Yesterday, a friend posted the following question on her FB page (So What? I Run):
TELL ME: If you've been contemplating on taking your running to the next level, what's stopping you? OR, If you finally made the leap, what gave you the courage?
There are a few distinct dates in my running life.
Before the spring of 1984, I just thought of running as something I would do to help with cardio for soccer or basketball. In the spring of 1984, I joined the track team in my freshman year. After having had glasses for three years and two soccer seasons, I turned my attention to a new sport. My first race was a 6:45 1600m (essentially a mile) race. I was lapped on a four lap track. I didn't give up. I got much better over the remainder of my high school years. I surprised someone at church recently by the fact that I still have my junior year cross country sweatshirt, it is in pretty good condition, and I wear it.
I lost my passion for running at the end of high school. Other than one attempt with a friend at a 5K in college (my senior year), I didn't run much. Same was true for five years in Ann Arbor. Same was true for our first three years in Baltimore. And between August 16, 1999 and January 1, 2006, I can count on one hand the number of times I ran.
Courage to come back started with realizing my weight was 185 lbs. That is not too excessive for someone who stands just about 6'1", but it was not where I had ever been and it was not where I wanted to be.
First, I got back into shape. One night after worship band practice in early 2007, someone suggested I train up to a half marathon distance. So the next bit of courage came as part of a challenge. I got up to the distance in 2007 but failed to register early enough for the half marathon portion of the Baltimore running festival that year. I took time away from running again.
Then, in 2009, I got my act together. Self-discipline and a positive response to the previous challenge drove me to run the half as part of a race.
In 2010, I received my last promotion at the School of Public Health where I work and found out that several people I knew had run the full marathon in 2009. I treated myself to marathon training in 2010. So, that was just chasing a dream. I dream I hadn't imagined in 1984. But a dream I have now pursued for almost six years.
The first marathon went okay but not great for me. I responded by making a serious attempt to qualify for Boston. Took me three more tries, but I got it. I ran Boston and thought I was done.
But someone I had met in Boston (a friend of a friend when I met her) was a coach. And the pressures of my body aging (I turned 44 in 2014) made me want to try one more time for a personal best. To push myself well below 3:15 (my fastest ever was below 3:15 to qualify for Boston but not by much.) So the dream became 3:10. And I was blessed to achieve it at the Philadelphia marathon in 2014--thanks to a coach who got my body ready, and a series of friends either watching the race or running the race who helped me spiritually to reach my dream.
Again, I thought I might be done, but one of my training partners off-handled comments on how she consistently runs faster when we run together. That, plus the need for a good qualifying time for an ultra marathon I was planning for 2016, led me to my latest very good run at the Freedom's Run marathon. At that point, the inspiration was to help a friend as much as it was to help myself. Given how much of my running had become social and spiritual and not just "as a means to do better in two other sports" where running started for me, this seemed like a natural progress.
Finally, where did the inspiration for an ultra come from? I read about it in Runner's World several years back. It is international. I have colleagues where the race is being held. And I could arrange a work trip that will end with the race. And I will get to push myself one more time to see just what my body can take.
There will be a lot to learn. There is for each marathon. And at the end of the day, whether running has come as a means to an end, to lose weight, as a response to a challenge, as a test of my self-discipline, or as just part of seeking a dream, in each case, it has been about learning something about myself. The more I run, the more I search and explore my motivations and the more I understand my body and the wonderful thing we call life.
TELL ME: If you've been contemplating on taking your running to the next level, what's stopping you? OR, If you finally made the leap, what gave you the courage?
There are a few distinct dates in my running life.
Before the spring of 1984, I just thought of running as something I would do to help with cardio for soccer or basketball. In the spring of 1984, I joined the track team in my freshman year. After having had glasses for three years and two soccer seasons, I turned my attention to a new sport. My first race was a 6:45 1600m (essentially a mile) race. I was lapped on a four lap track. I didn't give up. I got much better over the remainder of my high school years. I surprised someone at church recently by the fact that I still have my junior year cross country sweatshirt, it is in pretty good condition, and I wear it.
I lost my passion for running at the end of high school. Other than one attempt with a friend at a 5K in college (my senior year), I didn't run much. Same was true for five years in Ann Arbor. Same was true for our first three years in Baltimore. And between August 16, 1999 and January 1, 2006, I can count on one hand the number of times I ran.
Courage to come back started with realizing my weight was 185 lbs. That is not too excessive for someone who stands just about 6'1", but it was not where I had ever been and it was not where I wanted to be.
First, I got back into shape. One night after worship band practice in early 2007, someone suggested I train up to a half marathon distance. So the next bit of courage came as part of a challenge. I got up to the distance in 2007 but failed to register early enough for the half marathon portion of the Baltimore running festival that year. I took time away from running again.
Then, in 2009, I got my act together. Self-discipline and a positive response to the previous challenge drove me to run the half as part of a race.
In 2010, I received my last promotion at the School of Public Health where I work and found out that several people I knew had run the full marathon in 2009. I treated myself to marathon training in 2010. So, that was just chasing a dream. I dream I hadn't imagined in 1984. But a dream I have now pursued for almost six years.
The first marathon went okay but not great for me. I responded by making a serious attempt to qualify for Boston. Took me three more tries, but I got it. I ran Boston and thought I was done.
But someone I had met in Boston (a friend of a friend when I met her) was a coach. And the pressures of my body aging (I turned 44 in 2014) made me want to try one more time for a personal best. To push myself well below 3:15 (my fastest ever was below 3:15 to qualify for Boston but not by much.) So the dream became 3:10. And I was blessed to achieve it at the Philadelphia marathon in 2014--thanks to a coach who got my body ready, and a series of friends either watching the race or running the race who helped me spiritually to reach my dream.
Again, I thought I might be done, but one of my training partners off-handled comments on how she consistently runs faster when we run together. That, plus the need for a good qualifying time for an ultra marathon I was planning for 2016, led me to my latest very good run at the Freedom's Run marathon. At that point, the inspiration was to help a friend as much as it was to help myself. Given how much of my running had become social and spiritual and not just "as a means to do better in two other sports" where running started for me, this seemed like a natural progress.
Finally, where did the inspiration for an ultra come from? I read about it in Runner's World several years back. It is international. I have colleagues where the race is being held. And I could arrange a work trip that will end with the race. And I will get to push myself one more time to see just what my body can take.
There will be a lot to learn. There is for each marathon. And at the end of the day, whether running has come as a means to an end, to lose weight, as a response to a challenge, as a test of my self-discipline, or as just part of seeking a dream, in each case, it has been about learning something about myself. The more I run, the more I search and explore my motivations and the more I understand my body and the wonderful thing we call life.
No comments:
Post a Comment