Before I married twenty years ago I ran every day after work. I hated it. Why? Because I thought it would get me ultra-skinny before the wedding and allow me to continuously eat Heath Bars. Fast forward, and I'm hoping to get ultra-skinny once again, but there's a story behind putting my feet to the pavement.
The second week of July I could hardly jog one forth of the track. Why was I even trying? Because of this guy:
Yes, my son completed Clemsville's Fourth of July run, turned to me, and said, "So, Mom, are you going to do it with me?" In his hand was information about a 5K in October. My brothers, sister-in-law, and other kidlet had run this race. Far be it for me to say no to a kidlet's request. The training was on.
So during the week we were in Vermont my personal trainers became my brother, Dude, and sister-in-law, MaineGirl. MaineGirl had found information on what was titled "Couch to 5k," which she changed to "Laptop to 5K" in my honor.
I've known lots of runners, and I've been impressed with each of them. I've always seen running, especially long distances, such an unachievable goal of mine. I could hardly run down the street, for fear that my neighbors would think that I was being robbed. No, I'm not a louse. I power walk on the treadmill at four miles an hour at a nine incline. But run? Forget it. So to hear about people running - I was in awe.
My roommate in college, RunnerGirl, would just take off and go. "I went for a long run!" she would come back to room and declare. I would look up from a book and smile. Um, yeah. My fat arse was so envious that she could run, run, run. At times I snuck off to the indoor track on campus and tried to run to no avail. I hated it. I couldn't breathe. RunnerGirl enjoyed it! And to this day she has Facebook posts about herself and kids enjoying the sport of running. Yet more inspiration for me to move forward with this.
Uncle runs marathons. He's diabetic. He was once hit by a bus while running. He has a toe problem (as in he can't find it). He still runs. Go figure. If I had all those issues I'd be at home hiding in a closet with my cat. His running stories crack me up. The texts of support from him are keeping me going in this endeavor as I've encountered shin splints, weird knee problems, and the idiocy known as "Why is Kristin wearing walking shoes as she tries to run?" My first mini-marathon truly is for him. I'll get there.
Vermont's runs were amazing. With vistas of the mountains (see above, which doesn't even begin to do it justice) and a country landscape, pounding the pavement in eighty-five degree heat wasn't as bad as it should be. Dude and MaineGirl paced me at minute intervals to build up my endurance. If Dude could do this with a pace maker, I guess I could, too. Well, maybe... So we ran. Me, kidlet, MaineGirl, and Dude. Each day. Dude pushed me at times where I started spouting obscenities when I couldn't go on any more. Uphill can be a killer, especially when it's nearly ninety degrees. The former quaint scenes of wildflowers and Green Mountain farms don't look as pretty when one is breathing like Luke Skywalker's father.
Back home I'm keeping up, running farther each day. I've changed to my brother, Sprout's, training advice of, "Run 'til you puke." Granted, I'm not vomiting after running, but I am running as far as I possibly can. I'm now up to about two miles. When I run around the track I'm amazed that I used to only be able to jog a quarter of it. Proud? Most definitely.
Off I go. Rewarding myself with a caramel macchiato more often than not when I'm done.
Some things never change. Yes, I do follow up with water. I down lots of Pelligrino. Far be it for me to drink ordinary water, right?
What's different from twenty years ago? I'm actually enjoying the runs this time. I plug in my music, jamming out to either Nicki Minaj or The Beatles, depending on my mood. I compose blog posts (like this one) in my head. I come up with new short story ideas. I think about how cool it will be to one day get that 13.1 sticker and put it on my desk at school. Oh yeah. And even better? How amazing it will be to see the look on Kidlet B's face when I finish that 5K with him.
