In high school I started running on the cross-country team, but wasn't ever really great. One of my favorite memories was a family friend teaching me how to run the summer before my freshman year. He is still an incredible runner, but at the time he was coming off a win at the Tokyo Marathon and a good showing at the Olympic Trials. I, in my 13-year-old innocence, had no idea what all that really meant; all I knew that summer was that our runs together were both exhausting and challenging, and I wanted to get better. He gave me a great gift that summer--I try to give what I can to new runners in kind.
My freshman season was cut short by a broken ankle, but the following summer I went to a cross-country camp in the Pocono Mountains. Here, we ran twice a day; up mountain roads and through forest trails in the morning, speed work and intervals in the afternoon.
By Thursday I needed to fake an injury. That shit was hard.
After that, I wasn't a runner for many years. I don't think I even ran all the way through high school. When I went to college, I spent a looooong time enjoying the Bacchanalian life of drinking, partying, carousing, eating . . . and not running. Or, really, exercising at all. Oh, occasionally I'd make a half-assed attempt to "get in shape." I'd go flop around on the elliptical at the Physical Activity Center or take a step aerobics class taught by some exercise-science major. Maaaaybe if I was feeling desperate I'd throw on my old running sneakers and whatever old clothes I could find and run a few blocks. I'd try to convince myself I'd just run about five miles, probably. My fitness kick would last, usually, a week.
Ugh, I was a bit of a disaster.
Eventually, when I left the debauched college life behind, I finally got into getting fit. I certainly didn't get into eating well, mind you, but I'd go to the gym regularly. I even taught fitness and cycling classes for many years. When I started teaching Kindergarten, I signed up to be on my school's team for the Corporate Challenge. I could
But oh, did I. Somehow I was the second fastest female on the team. And then I was hooked and never looked back.
So here it is. I'm going to try to be honest with myself about my goals and progress. I just recently ran the Pittsburgh Marathon, getting my PR and qualifying for Boston in the process. I don't love running in races but there are a few that I do enjoy. I'm counting the minutes until I can register for Boston, and am hoping to just chill for the rest of the year until training starts. Running has, somehow, changed from something I did to stay fit to something I NEED to stay sane. I am head-over-heels in love with it, and am trying to just run happy all the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment