My entire life, I’ve been an athlete. Physical activity had carved out a place in my daily routine from the time I could walk.
As a matter of fact, I would even feel thrown off if I didn’t get a strength training session in. That being said, I was never really a runner. If I needed to steal second base on a wild pitch, sure. If there was a fast break moving down the court and I needed to get in my opponent’s way, absolutely. But, just getting out there…and going for miles…for fun? Not a chance.
That could be due to the fact that I get bored easily, and also because I’m built like a potato and never felt my stubby limbs could get me more that 90 feet. People who could run for miles so effortlessly both astonished and terrified me. No one should have that much power! But I was too intrigued for my own good, and decided at the age of fourteen to regularly lace up my sneakers and get out there.
Let it be known that I am the world’s worst runner (or at least it feels this way). I do all of my miles in sprint/walk intervals, in part because it’s the most effective way to burn fat, and because I simply can’t run that long . Therefore, I violently refuse to run with anyone else out of fear of slowing them down. I also have a terrible habit of aggressively singing along to Justin Timberlake because I think it makes me run faster (it doesn’t). I swerve, I veer off of sidewalks, I pet strange dogs; when my legs are moving, I’m even more of a mess than normally. My favorite part of a run is when it’s over – and that is not an exaggeration.
Image via iStock
When I saw my University was offering a class that paired writing with running, I laughed. I laughed about how two of the things that stress me out the most were now married together in a course I would be receiving a grade for. Working on one’s personal narrative while training for a half marathon sounds like a lovely idea, for people whose thoughts aren’t limited to expletives during a run. Surely, my paper would come with a government regulated NC-17 warning printed on the top of it. However, in a flash of insanity, and an awful need to put myself in situations that will probably end poorly, I signed up.
I felt so cool about signing up for a half marathon, that I would insert it into nearly every conversation I was involved in. (“So sorry to hear about your goldfish, but I’m running the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November!”). I became one of those people who liked to tell you all about how they do CrossFit, even when you only asked them if they knew where the bathroom at the bar was. It was all talk; I hadn’t even begun thinking about training yet, nor did I have shoes, nor could I run for long distances unless there was a tremendous sale at Target. I didn’t know the first thing about running a half marathon, but darn skippy did I like to play the part.
But at the end of the day, it wasn’t for the bragging rights or the cool title. It was to be able to work for something, train for something and, when all was said and done, be able to point to an accomplishment and go, “Look, I did that! I worked really hard, and I did the thing!”
I was too comfortable in life, which meant I had to make moves – a common phenomenon in many adult’s lives. Sometimes you just need to raise the stakes a tad higher. It’s going to be a journey, and I’m probably going to want to quit after every run I go on, but the end result will surely be worth it. There’s tons for me to learn, and hundreds of miles to cover, but nothing ever worth it was earned easily or without a little tears (I will most likely cry a lot).
The lesson learned here? Sign up for the marathon, start training because you have no choice and we promise you won’t regret it.
Once you’re done, take a look at this awesome video taken after the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco on post-marathon recovery.
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Do you have a half marathon tale to tell?
