Running
I am a runner. Yes, that means that I'm one of those who will go for a run without having to chase a ball or have a ravening dog snapping at my heels. It means that whenever anyone tells me how far away something is I do two mental calculations - how long it would take to drive there and how long it would take to run there. It means that I don't think that 70 is an ideal temperature to be outside (too hot) and that 50 is not a bad temperature to wear shorts (just right).
I've been a runner for a long time. I started in grade school when I realized that, while I liked playing sports, I had TERRIBLE hand-eye coordination. Since my parents made me walk the mile and a half back and forth to school every day I developed some endurance. When I got to high school I found a set of sports team that allowed me and my terrible hand-eye coordination to compete - cross country, wrestling, and track. I was good at all of these but never outstanding. I could run a 2:00 800, a sub 5:00 mile, a 17:00 5K, and run for distance until I got bored.
I tried to run cross country and track in college, but I hurt my shoulder and never got back off the bench. I ran with friends, but never long enough or regularly enough to stay in good shape. And I discovered beer. Gradually I got lazy and fat. I played roller hockey to stay in shape, but being a goalie does not do much for cardio-vascular fitness. And some time went by.
Then my wife decided that we were both getting fat and out of shape and that we needed to diet and exercise. We looked around at some of the different programs that we out there and latched on to BodyForLife. From a runner's perspective, the workout was somewhat challenging, but dull. To keep up with the regimen we did all of our running on a treadmill - BORING! I was used to running with cars and sidewalks and people to look at. Not that the people at the health club weren't diverting to look at, but there was little variation in the program. Eventually B4L burned out, but the seed was planted.
After the BodyForLife experiment, my wife decided that she wanted to run a marathon. Just something she wanted to do. So I shrugged and said sure. And we started training for the St. Louis Marathon using the Non-Runner's Marathon Training book. It was good for us at that point because it was full of "Anyone can do this" statements. I wouldn't recommend the book for someone training to qualify for Boston, but for someone who just wants to finish the book is golden. My wife and I finished the marathon, but more importantly for me was that I started to feel like a runner again. The last couple of years my wife and I have trained for three and a half marathons and helped some of our friends complete their first.
I'm starting to feel like my body can do anything that I want it to. I'm definitely not as strong as I'd like to be or should be, but I can drop out and run a 5K or 10K whenever I want to. Coming up in April I'm going to run the River To River relay with some friends. I'm looking forward to it.
Onward and outward
I've been a runner for a long time. I started in grade school when I realized that, while I liked playing sports, I had TERRIBLE hand-eye coordination. Since my parents made me walk the mile and a half back and forth to school every day I developed some endurance. When I got to high school I found a set of sports team that allowed me and my terrible hand-eye coordination to compete - cross country, wrestling, and track. I was good at all of these but never outstanding. I could run a 2:00 800, a sub 5:00 mile, a 17:00 5K, and run for distance until I got bored.
I tried to run cross country and track in college, but I hurt my shoulder and never got back off the bench. I ran with friends, but never long enough or regularly enough to stay in good shape. And I discovered beer. Gradually I got lazy and fat. I played roller hockey to stay in shape, but being a goalie does not do much for cardio-vascular fitness. And some time went by.
Then my wife decided that we were both getting fat and out of shape and that we needed to diet and exercise. We looked around at some of the different programs that we out there and latched on to BodyForLife. From a runner's perspective, the workout was somewhat challenging, but dull. To keep up with the regimen we did all of our running on a treadmill - BORING! I was used to running with cars and sidewalks and people to look at. Not that the people at the health club weren't diverting to look at, but there was little variation in the program. Eventually B4L burned out, but the seed was planted.
After the BodyForLife experiment, my wife decided that she wanted to run a marathon. Just something she wanted to do. So I shrugged and said sure. And we started training for the St. Louis Marathon using the Non-Runner's Marathon Training book. It was good for us at that point because it was full of "Anyone can do this" statements. I wouldn't recommend the book for someone training to qualify for Boston, but for someone who just wants to finish the book is golden. My wife and I finished the marathon, but more importantly for me was that I started to feel like a runner again. The last couple of years my wife and I have trained for three and a half marathons and helped some of our friends complete their first.
I'm starting to feel like my body can do anything that I want it to. I'm definitely not as strong as I'd like to be or should be, but I can drop out and run a 5K or 10K whenever I want to. Coming up in April I'm going to run the River To River relay with some friends. I'm looking forward to it.
Onward and outward
Labels: Running
posted by mypetrock at 12:27 PM
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