I do not run. In middle school I was the slowest in my class. In High School I remember even my teeth hurt when I ran. Sophomore year I began taking dance instead of PE just to get out of running. Running does not feel natural and anything that hurts that bad cannot be good for you.
5 minutes ago I signed up for the Portland Marathon, 18 weeks away.
This week I begin my official training program. Ok, to be fair, I am not starting from nothing. I have had a love-hate relationship with running for the last year since just after my Mom died. Before that it was all hate. The day we travelled to Pennsylvania for her funeral I had to run through the airport like a maniac to catch my plane. That day Portland was covered in snow (a rarity) and traffic was stopped throughout the city. My sister and I were dropped off downtown by my fiancé and then we pulled our luggage a mile through the snow to the train which was 30 mins late, giving us exactly 10 minutes to arrive at the airport, get through security and board the plane. This was an impossible fete. I ran until my chest felt like it might cave in and insisted they hold the plane for my sister. We made it. Barely. After that I hacked for about an hour. Something had to change. How could I possible survive in this fast paced world, let alone a zombie apocalypse if I could not run?
When I returned to Portland, emotionally battered and sad, I talked to my boss Keri about running. She was a former runner who was ready to get back to it and she offered to help me train. In the early days, we would walk for 5 minutes, run for 1 minute, etc. I again felt the sensation of my chest caving in but I did not want to let Keri down so I kept up. She had also lost her mother the prior year and she would listen as I talked about my Mom, cry till the snot was running down my face and keep me running. As my lungs began to open up I felt optimism begin to resurface in my soul. I remember the day I was supposed to run 5 minutes without walking. Keri had to stay home that day and I was in a panic. I figured I could skip it, I emailed her and told her I was planning to try it the next time we ran together. She didn't reply to my email.
I ran that day. Alone. I ran the full 5 minutes and as I was slowing to a walk I texted Keri, "I DID IT!!!", she replied "I KNEW YOU COULD!". That day I began to see that somewhere within my silly body, was a runner.
No comments:
Post a Comment