I have begun a new adventure in my life; an incredibly scary one for me. I have taken up running.
Let me first start by saying that I am not now, nor have I ever been, athletically inclined. I have always enjoyed getting out and biking or hiking and I always enjoyed gym class but there is nothing I am great at. I often get winded, stitches in my side and will complain of sore muscles for days.
Lately I have seen and felt my body rapidly aging. I creak like an old staircase when I stand up or get winded just walking up a flight of stairs. I was laboring under some misapprehension that if I worked out more, I would make things worse. And although that can sometimes be the case, strengthening muscles can help alleviate some of those aches as well. For example, there is no reason for me to feel like I have the hips of a 60 year old when a few hip exercises can strengthen the tendons and take the pain and popping away.
I had been thinking about running for well over a year now but I have always found excuses not to: it’s too hot, I don’t have proper technique, I will be the worst in the class, and on and on. Finally I had a talk with myself. I said “Super awesome self, it is ok to try something and fail. It is ok to be the worst in the class. The only thing you have to do is try. Try and finish. You can be the last one to cross the line in a 5K. All you have to do is cross that line. Who knows, you may end up loving it, or making friends in the process, but putting yourself out there is way more than most people do”.
So I went to Run For Your Life and I signed up for a Run Fit class. It is a one hour class, two days a week for nine weeks. That’s 18 hours. When you think of it that way, it is nothing.
Week 1-
· Day 1-day one was supposed to be on Memorial Day. Apparently too many people said that they would not be attending so they canceled the class. They did make up for it a week later by giving us all $10 gift certificates to the store.
· Day 2- I was nervous and excited. I had hoped they would take it easy on us being our first day. Boy was I wrong. The constant runners would run a full 5K. Those of use that were not at that point would do two miles of walk/running. That was alternating three minutes of running and one minute of walking until we finished. I think mine went more like 3:1, 2:2, 30 seconds:2 ½, just walking. I would push myself here and there; “just jog to that bridge”, “just get down the hill, now around the bend, to the stairs” and finally “up that hill”. I wasn’t the last to finish but far from the first. I felt good about that. My body wasn’t so sure. It took nearly 5 days for the pain to die completely and it was 3 before I felt well enough to try physical exercise again.
Week 2-
· Day 1-it was drizzling and part of me was hoping the class would be canceled. A big part of me. I don’t want to quit, but if it was canceled, it would be on them, not me. Unfortunately class was not cancelled although only about ½ of us showed up. On this day, Darius, our head trainer, tried to kill me. He had us running hills. Not steep hills, thank God, but a city block with a very slight incline that culminated in what I think was about a 5% grade. In other words, just enough to kick my ass. Did he not hear where I said that I had never run a day in my life? He tried to break me and he almost succeeded. By the second trip up the hill I was almost in tears. Thankfully, Adele, one of the other trainers saw my discouragement and stayed with me until I finished all 6 trips. She kept pushing, “just run to that car”, “just to that tree”, “we are almost at the top”, “we are catching up with the next runner”, all words I needed to hear. Other classmates started trying to encourage me too, yelling “keep it up girl”. I did not expect that. Part of me expected to be back in high school with the top girls snickering about why I would even bother. I finished those 6 trips up and down the hill with a cramp in the back of my thigh and calves that were burning. That night I stretched and soaked in an Epsom salt bath and, miraculously, did not feel too sore the next day. Maybe Darius isn’t trying to kill me after all. Maybe, just maybe, he’s pushing me to limits that I would not dare push myself. I’m not going to tell him that of course!
· Day 2-Mentally, I was in a better place than I was on Monday. I've begun telling people what I am doing and the encouragement has been amazing. I'm sure there are those who are waiting for me to quit. I will use that as a reason not to. We were to run/walk a mile today. I don't know if Darius was just going easy on us or if it was out of fear of the sky opening up when we were far out, but either way, I was ecstatic! The ratio today was 2:1. I maintained more of a 1:30 to 1:30 and finished at 14:22. I am proud of myself. My calves are burning to prove I put in work. I left class today full of energy, in a great mood, and with no tears. I might actually survive this.
Homework- yes, we have homework too. Last week I was left off the email which said to run 4 hills. Had I received it, maybe I would have been more prepared for Monday's class. This weekend's homework was interval run/walking for 1.2 miles. I think I did more like 1.5 but it was mostly walking. I'm not upset. I got out there and I tried and that is half the battle. I saw Adele and the Run Far class when I arrived at the park. Seeing her motivated me to push myself. I would hate for her to run up behind me knowing I wasn't trying my hardest.
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