Epic Fall

You should’ve seen it. It was epic. This morning I was running my 5k route at a pretty comfortable pace, feeling good, about to pick it up a bit. Then it happened. I stepped a little too close to the edge of the road, my left ankle rolled, and down I went. It happened in slow motion, like a football instant replay. It was like I was watching it happen from outside my body. I remember thinking, “I don’t understand. What’s happening? What the hell? How’d I get down here? I’m on the ground!” I laid there a second and then I saw my friend, Dayna’s hand reaching to help me up, and I thought, “Wow, this really happened. I'm on the ground.” The whole thing was very surreal and for a second, I almost felt drunk.

Dayna suggested walking for a bit, but my ankle felt ok, so I said no and went back to running. I had brought a stopwatch with us this time and still managed to finish in under 33 minutes, but as soon as we made it back to the fitness center, every muscle in my body immediately tensed up and I began feeling the pain. Clearly, I’m gonna pay for this blunder for days to come and now my hands and knees are scraped up like a 5-year-old. I just hope I haven’t done more damage than I initially thought.

You can laugh now...

Hooked on Running, works for me!

How I got hooked on running. Well, let’s see…

The company I work for sponsors several charitable events, such as biking races and running races, throughout the year. I was completely oblivious to any of these kinds of events before moving here. I always knew my mom and sister did the Race for the Cure in Salt Lake, but I never knew what it was all about and had never done it with them. When my company sent out the email inviting employees to enter the annual RedBud and OKC Memorial race, I thought nothing of it. That is, until my friend Michelle suggested we do it together. It was no cost to me, so I figured, what the hell.

I had this vision in my head that by the time I did both races, I’d finish thinner than I ever imagined. Yeah, it doesn’t work quite like that. In fact, not only did I not lose any weight, I ended up gaining weight due to my “I can eat whatever I want now, I’ll work it off” attitude: but that’s another story.

RedBud race day finally arrived, and it turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. I think I made it half a block before having to stop and catch my breath. I walked most of that race, but I finished, and I even got a medal (everybody got one, so I kinda felt like I was in the Special Olympics, but a medal’s a medal). My time was 43:03. Now, at the time, I had no clue how long 5k was, and the fact that the word “Marathon” was used in the OKC Memorial title meant that it was long! I honestly thought I had run a marathon! I was so proud of myself! Then I realized how short a distance that really is and what a horribly slow time that was.

Anyone who knows me, knows what a competitive nature I have. The OKC Marathon was coming up a few weeks later, and I was determined to beat my RedBud time. I did. By about a minute. At this point, it was on. I started looking for different races to sign up for and run in. Michelle and I were each others’ motivation and we tried to push each other, but it wasn’t till after my 3^rd race that I realized that I didn’t have to wait for her anymore. We still run every race together, but now I leave her in the dust right out of the gate and we meet up at the finish line.

Since then, I’ve run in 8 sanctioned 5k races. In fact, the only way I can keep track of how many races I’ve run is to count the shirts I received for running each one. My time gets faster with each race I run. My best time to date is 32:30 and I’ve managed to build my endurance so that I don’t have to stop and catch my breath anymore. I can run a 5k continuously without stopping. What a great feeling that is! It feels so good in fact, that I do it 2-3 times a week now before work.

That's pretty much how I got hooked, and to answer the question Wendi asked, "If I never lose a pound running, would I continue?" I say absolutely! Every day I challenge myself to be better than the day before. Sometimes this makes me my own worst enemy, but for the most part, it makes me my best competitor.

Reconnecting through running.

I like that title. It says so much in just three words.

When I first forced myself to start running, I dreaded it, hated it and almost feared it. But I would force myself to "just get on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes." I would tell myself that I didn't have to run the entire time, I just needed to be moving for 30 minutes. That's all. Easy enough. So for 3 months I played this game with myself in my head and for 3 months I got myself on the treadmill at least 4 times a week. My original goal was to get in shape for an upcoming trip to Cancun with a bunch of perfect bodied "friends" for a couples retreat. I wanted to look even half as good as the people I would be hanging out with for a week, and I figured running would be a quick way to get in shape.

Well, after 3 months I hadn't lost a single pound and I felt like I looked exactly the same as when I started forcing myself onto the treadmill. I was pissed! Discouraged! MAD! What a waste, I thought. But then I thought about it more (a problem I have... I think WAY too much!) and started thinking about the 3 months I'd spent forcing myself on the treadmill in a different light. I asked myself "What did you like about running?" A simple question I know, but my realization was confounding, even to myself. My answer was that I sincerely liked the time spent working on myself. I liked being left to my thoughts. Free to think and ponder and free to allow my mind to wander wherever it wanted to. I liked listening to good music and feeling my muscles and body working with me. Holy cow! I discovered that I actually enjoyed the PROCESS OF RUNNING! It was amazing!

So then I asked myself "If you continued to run like this for the rest of your life and you never lost a pound, would you still run?" And I was happy, amazed, relieved and excited to respond "YES!" Because I learned that I actually love running, for the spirit of running, for the action of running, for the movement of running... so my motivation for running changed from there on out. I am now not necessarily for weight loss (although, I'm not going to lie, I would welcome such a loss), but for my health and my sense of well being. I am indeed RECONNECTING with myself through running!

But not only am I reconnecting with myself, I am also reconnecting with my sister who is enduring similar challenges and insights on her running journey thousands of miles away. What a happy feeling it is to have someone to share these adventures and insights with. This blog is going to be such a wonderful thing!

Take it away Aimee! Your turn to share!