Caylin Bower hates running. Well, maybe not as much as she once did. So, it only makes sense that she would sign up to train and participate in a half marathon.
The owner of Livingston’s Wolf Gymnastics and Cheer said she’s always been into fitness and wanted to be an example for the little ones she instructs.
“I always tell my girls that it's so good to get out and move your body. I've weightlifted, and I've done gymnastics, so let me find something else to do,” Bower said. “I made a goal to do it before my 30th birthday, and so I just did it. I actually hated running, and I kind of still hate running, but once you get to the finish line, it's all worth it. At the very beginning, I didn't think I could accomplish it, and the first couple months of training was really rough.”
Before training, her longest run was three miles, but she began progressing in March, and added a mile every week.
“One day, I just woke up, and I was running six miles, no problem, and then I was like, ‘Absolutely, I can run 13 miles.’ Once I hit that six-mile mark, it seemed more of an accomplishment that I could do.”
Her trainer, Mike Cabaniss, is a council member in Woodville who still gets out to run most days. Bower said he's inspired several people to run, and at age 71, he ran alongside her in the Sugar Land Hometown Half.
“I couldn't even tell you how many people he's trained, but I definitely could not have done it without him,” Bower said. “He is the founder of the Woodville run club. They're called the Woodville Hill Runners. There are some rough hills over there, and when you're training, they seem even rougher.”
Cabaniss was an athlete in high school, running the 1600 meters with success. He didn’t run again for nearly four decades. His reason for starting again was in the mirror.
“I couldn't stand the way I looked,” Cabaniss said. “So I started doing a regiment and the whole thing was like – run a mile, and it just went up from there. I actually ended up running the Boston Marathon when I was 61.”
The trainer said he feels his age inspires others. He’s worked with many toward their first half marathon, trying to get them running at least three days a week, preferably four.
His advice for those who start like Bower would be to get up and walk a mile.
“The next time jog a little bit, even if it's just 100 yards. Then, just keep increasing the jog. The next thing you know, you're jogging the whole thing.”
Bower said friends and family may have thought she was a little crazy when it all began, but were supportive, nonetheless. She had a strict schedule, running a set amount of miles on certain days. From January to May, she missed only one training day. On the day of the half marathon, she was able to cross the finish line in under three hours. The longest she had run prior to that was 10 miles.
So, how did she feel the next day?
“Very proud and very accomplished. My legs were Jell-O. I knew that I hated running, and I really knew that that would be pushing myself.
“At the beginning of my training block, I kept telling myself, ‘Once I cross that finish line, I never have to run again.’ But, once I crossed the finish line, I was already searching up another race.”
