It's official. I've fallen in love... with running. I have never really been in love with physical activity before. I enjoyed it and I played some sports and enjoyed hiking and things of that nature but, it was never a love affair like this. I exercised as an obligatory activity. I 'need to' lose weight, stay in shape, be healthy... blah blah blah. Not the most motivating reasons I must say. I would get in a groove and then skip one or two times and give up for a while and then 'try' again. I swore that I hated running. The truth is that I was afraid and had a lack of confidence. I'll get back to that in a bit. I'm sure you're curious as to what made me go from hating to loving such a thing.
One night I went shopping with my neighbor. We are both Stay At Home Moms (SAHMs) of preschool aged children (my daughter, Sophia is 15 months old). I was complaining about the post pregnancy weight not coming off and how I really 'needed to' figure out how to fit exercise into my daily routine. She said that she would love to run after dinner a few times a week if I would run with her. I said that I really hated running but, I hated being a size 10 more. (There is nothing wrong with being a size 10 in and of itself it's really to do with my body type and my own healthy weight range and my own comfort level. Also, keep in mind this is what I was feeling then... in the dressing room at Esprit... trying on clothes with my size 2 neighbor...) Things change. So, we left Esprit and went on along to Aerie and bought us some running jackets to kick off the new routine. The next day we scheduled running days and I was committed to keeping up with it.
Day 1 11/8: We met on the corner halfway between our houses and started running. After 1/3 of a mile I had to walk. I was pretty embarrassed and humiliated but, instead of feeling discouraged I felt determined to get better.
11/11/07: bought official running pants to solidify my commitment
Day 2 11/12: Neighbor canceled and I went anyway. I decided I would cover about 3 miles walking if I needed to but, running as much as I could. I ran a LOT more than I walked and a whole LOT more than I expected. Something shifted in my mind while running. I should explain that I'm Buddhist and I meditate daily. Some of what I learned "on the cushion" was suddenly transferring to the run. I felt at peace with the struggle. It was hard and it hurt but, I wanted to keep running to see what I could do. I breathed into the pain and felt it leave my body. I suddenly realized that it was temporary and many times that I had stopped running in the past was premature - that pain too would probably have passed. Then came the realization that this applies to life as well. So many times I've felt pain in life and it has stopped me. I could have kept going while carrying the pain. All these thoughts washing over me and before I knew it I was back home. What an experience. I wanted more. 2.82 miles at an average pace of 14:10
11/13: I decided I would sign up for two 5k runs and train for them to give myself some direction. My wonderful and supportive husband agreed to sign up with me! He has been running pretty regularly for a number of years so, it wasn't a challenge for him although, he had never run an official race before so, he was excited too. I signed us up for a local 5k (
Laurel Turkey Trot) on Thanksgiving day. And I signed us up for a bigger race in Baltimore (
The Jingle Bell 5k for the Arthritis Foundation) on November 9.
so, never having run a full 3 miles in my life I had a week and a half to prepare for my "practice race" and about 4 weeks to prepare for the "big race". My goal was just to finish the race without stopping. I looked up some 5k training plans on line and
adjusted it a little to fit the turkey trot in and be ready for the 9th. Here's what I logged in my training log:
11/13: 1 hour Yoga
11/14: 2.75mi 12:00 min mile pace no walking
11/15: 1 hour on the stationary bike
In meditation I heard myself saying "Don't be afraid of your Power" and "There is no perfection; only Truth" - these became running mantras. Apparently exactly what I needed to run longer and faster this week.
11/17: 3.02mi 12:00 min mile pace no walking! My first 3 miles ever.
11/18: 1.5 hr walk with dogs
11/20: 2mi 11:30 min mile pace no walking. I got faster!
11/22:
Turkey Trot! We finished without walking and he let me finish first because he's such a good hubby! Here we are
194 172 Jocelyn Goldblatt F 32 Odenton MD 35:13 11:20
195 171 Jason Goldblatt M 31 Odenton MD 35:13 11:21
