It's pretty hard to believe that I am enjoying running. At no point in my life did I think this would be the case. I ran track in high school and was a pretty good sprinter (9.87 hundred) but never wanted to run any distance to do the training to get better. I even begged off the longer training runs in college when I was rowing and in ridiculously good shape. Because I smoked from the time I was 14. It was just too much effort to run more than ten minutes at a time. Of course, I'm not sure I knew that then. I just didn't feel like it.
But this is different. I quit smoking cold turkey when I was 24 and for some idiotic reason started again ten years later. The past couple of years people would ask me when I was going to quit. I had this niggling idea that I wouldn't smoke for my whole life but I sure wasn't ready to stop. But my employer offers free patches and counseling plus a credit against medical benefits costs. So in February I decided it was time. The 21st. That was the last day I smoked. Eight weeks of the patch and weekly check-ins with a counselor and that was the end of it.
On June 4th I decided to reward myself for this accomplishment. I mean, really, I'd smoked for a total of 30-odd years and this is a BIG DEAL. Those who know me are familiar with my propensity to dive into new things head first, get bored and move on to something else. (I wonder if I have ADD?) So the decision to run in a marathon five months later was perhaps a bit grandiose, but I did a fair amount of research and found that I had plenty of time to train to finish a marathon. So on June 5th I registered for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17th. I went to Philadelphia Runner and got fitted for running shoes and began this new journey.
Today marks 250 miles in. That's just incredible. The picture above shows my two pairs of Asics, because I know the first pair won't last through November. Interestingly, the new pair, although exactly the same shoe, does not feel the same. I can't decide if it's because the first pair are worn in and comfy or if they're just different. We'll give them a couple of weeks and then decide. Over the next ten weeks I'll tack on another 350 miles. And it's all good.
That's not to say that there aren't any days when it's hard to get going, or finish, but all in all I feel defined by my running now. It's a regular part of my week and affects many aspects of my days. There are new aches and pains that come and go as the weeks pass (I'm really glad my right hip has stopped hurting so much) and my diet is a constant part of my day. Being a vegetarian requires vigilance doing endurance work. The brass ring is hanging out there for me, though. On November 17th I will finish my first marathon and the feeling is going to be simply amazing. Which is why I've already registered for the next one. And why I'm even considering swimming, something I liked less than running, even though I was good at that, too, so I can do a triathlon. That'd be cool.
I do not run with earbuds. It's probably a walking and chewing gum thing. I don't think I could run at a steady pace if I had music playing. Especially with all the time signature changes in the metal I love so. I'd be out of breath after three songs. And you're not allowed to run races with them anyway. No, I enjoy taking in my surroundings and listening to my body. The vast majority of my runs are in the morning, but today I started around 5:00 and had the great pleasure of seeing late afternoon sun on the Delaware River, silhouettes of egrets and herons in sharp contrast to the water.
Climatology sidelight here: I have run on fifty one separate occasions through this past summer, virtually all of them outside. I have not once run in the rain. And we've had record rainfall this year.
At this point in my life it is enough to know that, having set a goal, I can accomplish it and move on to the next. I do it each week as I add mileage. Too many years went by without focus. And I can breathe!
No comments:
Post a Comment