flaccidmind - Running

Running

Running for me has meant a great many things: Sprinting, Running on the Soccer Pitch, Playing Football, and occasionally Exercising. I’ve never been a big “Runner”. You know the kind of person that runs 3 or more times a week for exercise, the kind that runs in competitions. Nope, I’ve never experienced the runner’s high or enjoyed “just being outside”. That is until recently.

Sara got me into running. Well, really she got me out of the house and got me on the trail where I attempted to do something that vaguely resembled running. Truth to be told, I mostly went to be with her. The little exercise was counter balanced by watching her while she ran. She had the opportunity to coach me and encourage me to do more, to push myself and to develop some pacing skills. However, I think she, like all runners, lack a certain ability to think about other runners. Needless to say, I never really got above running a mile without stopping, then chugging water and walking a lot.

So, where did I get on this half-marathon kick and how the hell am I doing it? I still really don’t know the answer to that, but I think I can make a start.

First, I had a lot of stress in my life. If you’ve read any of this site, you kinda know what that’s all about, so repeating it here is just beating a dead horse.

Second, I had a lot of free time. The layoff part of the stress gave me innumerable hours to spare and a need to kill time before I went crazy.

Third, I somehow broke the wall. With the first two things pushing me and all that nervous energy, I somehow managed to run further than I had before. Part of it was energy, part of it was time, but I actually think that I didn’t care how tired I was, I needed to be more tired. So, I kept going.

At first, I did a couple of miles, usually walking about as much as running. Start slowly and just keep going. My sister had already encouraged me about the half-marathon and I thought it might be a whacky goal that I could aspire to even if I never got there. Heck, I would have been happy to run 3 miles in a row without stopping (still not there yet, but I will be shortly). But, something shifted. One day, all the stress and bullshit hit a head and I just kept going... That day I ran about 3 miles of a 5.5 mile circuit and I felt good. That was two weeks ago. Today, I ran 6 miles of a 7.5 mile circuit sustaining 2 miles at a stretch.

I now feel like a 3 mile stretch isn’t all that far away, a 10 mile day with a bit of walking only a couple of weeks out and that half-marathon not only a goal, but an attainable one. I’m still a long way from 13 miles, but I can see that I can do it. That’s an amazing thing for a guy that couldn’t even run the mile in high school.Somehow, this lark had turned into something bigger, more defining. I feel a little like Simon Pegg’s character from Run Fatboy Run. I feel like this is a redefinition, a resurrection of sorts.

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Copyright: 2009-12-27 21:56:32