Running....give it time...at your own pace..then decide
Let me first say that I was the one in PE class who always finished last whenever we ran around the track...huffing and puffing...side stitches...I HATED running with a passion and if I never had to run another step in my life, it would have been too soon for me. That is the way I felt pretty much my entire life.
Then during High School, the guy I was dating joined the Army. He was an anomoly...he LOVED boot camp because of the physical training...he could run forever and do pushups and situps til the cows came home without puking. He came home from boot camp and would try to get me to run with him. In the name of love, I gave it the old college try...and again with the side stitches...couldn't breathe...I hated it but pretended I didn't...for about a week.
Fast forward about 20 years, and I tried the C25k program but didn't finish it because I got bored with treadmill running.
Then, something happened that changed it all. I signed up for the Team Challenge Program to run a 1/2 marathon. I knew it was a crazy idea when I did it, because I had struggled with running ALL my life, but I was doing this for my daughter, who was 4 years old and diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at the age of 3, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 18 months. I was raising money for a cause that was near and dear to my heart, but more than that...I thought....if my dd can endure everything she has up to this point in her lifetime, I can figure this out and run 13.1 miles....that's a cake walk compared to what she faces daily!
But something else changed, too. My approach to running became more to enjoy the process of training. I alternated running with walking until I could finally run for longer and longer distances. I surprised myself almost daily with how much progress I was making by just stepping back and taking things more slowly. I knew if I ended up injured, I would be out of the race...and that's not something I saw as an option...so I took it careful to make sure I didn't get injured. I settled in to a final pattern of running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute that I stuck with right up through race day. And I finished the race in 2:57:22, (which included one long wait at the porta potties at mile 5 ) and was perfectly fine with me...this former NON-runner, in my first race ever! If you would have told me even 6 months prior that I'd be a 1/2 marathon finisher I would have laughed so hard I probably would have keeled over.
I love running today....not every minute of it....and if I have a break and have to start up again, it is VERY hard. I live in FL, and I don't like running when it's blistering hot outside, but I do it because I know that if I quit, I will just need to deal with coming back up the curve again, which is a lot worse than toughing it out in the heat. But I love how it makes me feel afterwards. I also love the feeling I have when I'm out on a run and I can just sort through things in my head...it's different than a walk....there's something about running that, because of the physical exertion and because of the cadence and the breathing and everything else, is very meditative. I also love training for and running races. Although my focus has been shorter (5k) races since the 1/2 marathon, it's fun to see if I can beat my time once in a while and to actually see that I'm making progress. Plus, I just like crossing the finish line...it makes me feel like the athlete I never was. I guess what I'm saying is that running has really grown on me over this past year that I've been a runner. So give it a chance....slow down....don't push too hard, and re-assess. If you really still hate it after awhile, move on...it's not for everyone...but you just might find that isn't the case.
If you get a chance, read some books by John Bingham. He has a good approach for beginning runners that I like. Running for Mortals and Marathoning for Mortals, and the Courage to Start are I believe a few of his books. Oh, and good music is a MUST for me as well!
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VFer and Runner
I did it...I ran a 1/2 marathon!
ING Miami 1/2 Marathon
January 25, 2009
13.1 Miles for Team Challenge
in honor of my little girl & hero, age 4
to End Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis!
See my profile for my webpage link!
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