Friday, December 9, 2011

Running is for Cavemen!


Yes, those were my exact words back in July of this year. Running has never been something I aspired to do or felt that I needed to do....or at least that’s what I thought, until I met Holly.

Holly stepped into my office in April or May 2011. She had just moved to the Montgomery area from the DC area. I was telling her about all the different things to do in the area. And at this time, I was reaaaalllllyyyy into biking. Okay, not THAT into it.....let me be honest. Biking was new to me, so I wasn’t as into it as I was excited about it. It was a new hobby of mine....seriously. My longest ride to this date is still only 23 miles. I was proud of it then and still am to some extent. But hearing about people riding centuries and 300Ks and riding across country make my 23 miles seem like a leisurely ride around the neighborhood. Back to the story: I offered up the usual suggestions to Holly: go to a Biscuits game, kayaking, Shakespeare....and then I did something I’ve never done before. I shared a part of my life with a stranger! I said (and I quote!), “And if you’re into biking, you should join the Montgomery Bicycle Club!” How odd is that? Not everyone’s into biking and even if they are, they might not be THAT into it....or as excited about it as I was at the time! But without a pause, Holly whips out an envelope addressed to the Montgomery Bicycle Club and proclaims that her next stop was the post office to drop off her membership application and club dues! We did as everyone does these days and friended each other on Facebook. And the rest is history. :) Well, not really....

Fast forward to July: Holly suggested that we go for a bike ride sometime and of course I said yes and also jokingly countered her to teach me how to run. And she agreed. And I really had no idea what I was asking for. Once I settled into the idea of starting a running regimen, I thought about how running would be a great way to kick off losing the extra 100 pounds I’ve been carrying around for the past 5 years. (And let me tell you now, Rome was definitely not built in a day because I’m still sitting here 5 months later with more of me than I thought would still be here at this point in the game. But it hasn’t discouraged me. My goals aren’t only to lose weight here. But it sure would make running a lot easier)
:) And you don’t know this yet, but I’m going to go ahead and say it out loud so I don’t have to hide it anymore: I am a chicken and new things make me a little nervous, I had to express my concerns to Holly before we started: shin splints, losing toe nails, what to wear and where to get it, long runs and getting lost, etc. You know....the usual things that worry you when you embark on something new and foreign. And of course all these things were foreign....they were things I had only read about....not anything I had actually experienced and quite frankly, they were somewhat mythical. So, we met at Starbucks early one Sunday morning and went over these things in great detail. Next on the agenda was to get me fitted for running shoes, because according to Holly, my 4 year old New Balances just weren’t going to cut it and with the thought of losing a toe nail still fresh on my mind, I quickly agreed. So I bought a nice pair of Asics. A pair of shoes I feel like I can do anything in, might I add. And I started my journey on July 31.

I’m not going to go in great detail about each and every workout we had. But we worked hard and when it got easier, we made it harder. And when it got too hard, we took a step back and reevaluated. We set the date for my first 5K on October 1st. And that’s when my perception about running changed. I’m not going to lie and say that running comes easy....or fun....or quick. For me anyways. But I will tell you that there is no greater feeling than the feeling of accomplishment. It’s pride. It’s encouragement. It’s dedication. Knowing that I put in the time. Knowing that I didn’t give up because it was hard or because it wasn’t always fun. Knowing that a race for me is not a race against anyone other than myself. Realizing that the hardest part of this journey is not getting to the finish line because the finish line is fun and full of relief. The hardest part of my journey is stepping up to the start line.

I don’t need a dinosaur chasing me to get me running anymore. I just need to find the start line.

So welcome to my world. This is only the beginning. :)

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