The Accidental Runner

I have to admit that learning to run wasn’t my idea.

After giving birth to my first child I knew I had to start thinking about getting back in shape. But all I did was think about it. Then one day I got a phone call from my sister-in-law. She had clipped a “Learn to Run 5K in Six Weeks” program out of a magazine and wanted to know if I was interested. I said I was.

Until then, running was not my thing. In high school we used to run 1K in gym class. I was always one of the last runners back to the school, red-faced, panting and looking like I was about to pass out. Later, in my 20s, my brother used to goad me into going for a run with him. I’d make it a block or two then turn around and stumble home hearing him laugh as he sped off into the distance.

I started out with doubt in my mind. I didn’t even own running shoes and I wasn’t about to shell out the money based on a program I wasn’t sure about. So there I was, at the beginning of my running career, wearing hiking boots.

It was agony at first (the boots and the exercise). Thirty second bursts of running felt like hours. Gradually one minute of running became three minutes and so on. My running route was an old cemetery at the end of my street containing tall memorials mixed with underground crypts. I was getting up before the baby woke, putting on my shoes – yes, I did eventually buy proper footwear – and heading out to the cemetery about every second day. I even started to look forward to it.

I’m sure I ran every route possible through that cemetery. I knew many of the engravings on the gravestones by heart and they gave me comfort as I accomplished a goal I never knew I had. At the end of six weeks I ran for half-an-hour straight and that was it. The program was complete. I was a runner.

After persevering through what seemed like a grueling training program, it feels like I should have had some huge goal at the end. But I didn’t. I simply wanted to keep my weight in check. I did that by going out and running for half-an-hour at a time. I continued running for the next few years, stopping as I had two more children, then running again in bits and spurts.

Then I was asked by friends to join them in a 5K community race. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I had a great time. I wanted more. Now I’m training for my fourth race over 20K and thinking about upping the distance next year. And I still feel like I'm just getting started.

Becoming a Runner/Emerging from the Haze of New Motherhood

I distinctly remember the moment.  My youngest child was finished with diapers.  I realized that with having three young children in close succession, I had been changing diapers for eight years.  Eight years!  (Hmmm.  I don't think I'm getting paid enough.)  Since I was also done with breastfeeding, I was finally getting some sleep.
Not wonderful sleep.  I mean, I still had three young children.  Let's not get ahead of ourselves.  But I could see a light at the end of the haze of sleeplessness.  (For one brief crazy moment I felt nostalgic for the diaper era, but I quickly moved on.)  I felt like a new woman!  I felt like I had some time on my hands, and that I could finally do something just for myself.  I wanted to get fit again.

Before having children, I had always tried to keep pretty active.  I was never an elite athlete, but I would hike and walk, and go to aerobic classes with an occasional gym membership thrown in there.  But having gained weight with each child, I knew I needed to up the ante.  I wanted to start running.

You see people running down the sidewalk and it looks effortless.  It's not.  It's hard.  But the good news is that it gets easier and easier.  I started off by signing up for a 5K race.  This is very helpful because it motivates you to train.  I ran it and survived, and enjoyed the excitement and atmosphere.  It inspired me to continue training so I could get an even better time the next year.  I did the next one in under 30 minutes (I think 27 minutes).  It's so great to see progress.  I also started feeling better and having more energy.  It's important to have energy when you need to keep up with three active children.  I loved running on the trails; I found it therapeutic both emotionally and physically.  I wanted to keep going.

I vividly remember when my friend said that we would want to do 7K next, and I thought, "Whoa!  Let's just focus on getting the 5K feeling easy."  Now I'm about to do my fourth 25K race, and I'm looking forward to a 32K trail run, and okay I'll say it, a marathon.  I am the fittest now I have ever been, and at almost 41 that feels good.  I'm hooked!