Pam Kavalam

Name: Pamela Kavalam

Current Location: Astoria, New York

About a year ago, a friend recommended the Rise (TMIRCE’s sister morning workout group) to me. I spent last summer looking at all the amazing photos and fun posts on their Facebook page while being too scared to hang with these super fit, smiley people.

I finally got the courage to join when I saw that TMIRCE was starting a 6 week Beginner Run series in November. My friend Hillit and I joined the first session and were greeted by the amazing and encouraging Rachel Cochran and a bunch of TMIRCE regulars. They talked us through the basics of running, led a challenging but doable 2 mile jog (I had never run more than a mile without walking before!), and then we all got to know each other over pickle backs.

By the end of the series, we had formed our own “cohort” and branched out to the Friday hills workout, the Sunday foodie runs, Monday night track, etc. It was really nice to know that I had a buddy around my pace. I also started cross-training with the Rise in the morning and my next goal is the elusive “Rise to Five” (doing all five 6:30 am workouts in a week).

In the past year, I’ve shaved minutes off of my mile pace, given out a ridiculous amount of high fives, and met some of the most inspiring, friendly and wonderful people EVER. If you don’t consider yourself a runner but have been curious to try it out, definitely try out the Beginner Run and soon you’ll be hooked!