Mid January last year I suddenly had a "great" idea. I was going to run the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon. What a great goal to set for yourself, right? The thing is I hadn't been exercising at all. I threw down the challenge for myself to go from couch to half marathon in 11 weeks without much thought. I was an avid distance runner in high school and competed in track. I loved running back then and was pretty good at it so I thought getting back into it would be a piece of cake. Yeah, right.
I found a training program online and set out to start training (I totally ignored that the training program said you should be able to run at least 4 consecutive miles and be logging 8-12 miles a week before starting.) As if running my first half marathon wasn't enough I decided to set a time goal for myself. I wanted to run the half marathon in 2 hours (yes, I may have been a little crazy) Every other day I would lace up my shoes, strap on my watch and set out on my runs. I would need to run around 9 min miles to finish in 2 hours so I was constantly obsessing over the little numbers on my watch as I ran. Speeding up or slowing down as need be, pushing myself to the limit. Since I had been getting practically ZERO exercise before this endeavour training was HARD. My body hurt. My shins ached. My knees throbbed. I got more blisters on my feet than I care to remember. But, I had set a goal and was determined to achieve it so I ran on.
Before I knew it training was done and it was race day. I was fortunate to have my brother and Dad running the half marathon with me. They helped put my nerves at ease and gave me great pointers for my first half marathon. I'm not going to lie, the race was kind of overwhelming. The hoards of people, the pushiness of other runners, the heat that day. I had been training in cold Missouri Winter and early Spring temperatures. However, on race day there was a heat wave and temps reached into the upper 80's during the race. It was awful and people were dropping all over the place due to heat exhaustion. I pushed forward and finished the race in 2 hrs 6 min. Not the time I was hoping for but I was so happy that I had finished.
After completing the half marathon I pretty much stopped running cold turkey. My body was beat up and I was just plain tired of running. Over the next several months I would maybe do a 2 mile run every once a month or so. I engaged in other activities like hiking, biking, walking, etc but I could not bring myself to run consistently. I think I had just pushed myself too hard and had been too focused on time when I trained for the half marathon. I had burned myself out on running.
At the start of this new year I decided I needed to start running again. I wanted to get back in the routine and get my body back into running shape. I think enough time had passed that the memories of training had faded a bit. So I started running again but I decided that this time around I would leave my watch at home. I wanted to completely change the way I thought about running. I want it to be a means for keeping myself fit and healthy. I want it to be a release for stress or other negative feelings. I want it to be a time to relax and enjoy myself. I started out running a couple of miles a couple times a week then slowly progressed. I never left for a run with a predetermined number of miles in my head. I listened to my body. If I felt good I would run a little further or faster. If I wasn't feeling so hot I would slow my pace or cut the run short. If my knees or shins started to give me problems I would take a few days off. I try to do a couple of short runs, around 30 minutes or so and one longer run, around an hour, each week.
After a few months of running like this I can say that I am totally in love with running again. It's not about how fast or how far I run. I simply live in the moment. I get lost in the rhythm of the music playing through my ear buds. I take in sights of the blossoming trees, the setting sun, the little birds, bunnies and squirrels scurrying about. I breath deeply and take in the scents of freshly cut grass, flowering trees and rain. When I'm running now, the rest of the world just seems to fade away. It's all about me and the road ahead.
So far I haven't lost motivation. I've found that I still have the internal drive to push myself while running. I'm getting in great shape; I feel stronger and healthier both physically and mentally. I can run a little further and a little faster each week. My last long run was just shy of 8 miles and I loved every minute of it. I definitely see myself running in competitive races again in the future. Completing a marathon is on my bucket list. I think with my new outlook on running, training in the future will be much more enjoyable.
So, my advice to any of you that are wanting to start or get back into running but are a little hesitant: get out of your head and and into your running shoes. Don't think about it so much, just be in the moment. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and listen to them while running. My current running playlist is chalk full of Bon Iver, The Head & The Heart, Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars and other relaxing music I can get totally lost in. Start running slow and low, maybe just a mile at first. Once you get comfortable and can run that easily go a little further. Push yourself but also listen to your body. You'll know when to slow it down or take some time off. Before you know it you'll be loving your runs and how they make you feel just like I do.
I found a training program online and set out to start training (I totally ignored that the training program said you should be able to run at least 4 consecutive miles and be logging 8-12 miles a week before starting.) As if running my first half marathon wasn't enough I decided to set a time goal for myself. I wanted to run the half marathon in 2 hours (yes, I may have been a little crazy) Every other day I would lace up my shoes, strap on my watch and set out on my runs. I would need to run around 9 min miles to finish in 2 hours so I was constantly obsessing over the little numbers on my watch as I ran. Speeding up or slowing down as need be, pushing myself to the limit. Since I had been getting practically ZERO exercise before this endeavour training was HARD. My body hurt. My shins ached. My knees throbbed. I got more blisters on my feet than I care to remember. But, I had set a goal and was determined to achieve it so I ran on.
Before I knew it training was done and it was race day. I was fortunate to have my brother and Dad running the half marathon with me. They helped put my nerves at ease and gave me great pointers for my first half marathon. I'm not going to lie, the race was kind of overwhelming. The hoards of people, the pushiness of other runners, the heat that day. I had been training in cold Missouri Winter and early Spring temperatures. However, on race day there was a heat wave and temps reached into the upper 80's during the race. It was awful and people were dropping all over the place due to heat exhaustion. I pushed forward and finished the race in 2 hrs 6 min. Not the time I was hoping for but I was so happy that I had finished.
After completing the half marathon I pretty much stopped running cold turkey. My body was beat up and I was just plain tired of running. Over the next several months I would maybe do a 2 mile run every once a month or so. I engaged in other activities like hiking, biking, walking, etc but I could not bring myself to run consistently. I think I had just pushed myself too hard and had been too focused on time when I trained for the half marathon. I had burned myself out on running.
At the start of this new year I decided I needed to start running again. I wanted to get back in the routine and get my body back into running shape. I think enough time had passed that the memories of training had faded a bit. So I started running again but I decided that this time around I would leave my watch at home. I wanted to completely change the way I thought about running. I want it to be a means for keeping myself fit and healthy. I want it to be a release for stress or other negative feelings. I want it to be a time to relax and enjoy myself. I started out running a couple of miles a couple times a week then slowly progressed. I never left for a run with a predetermined number of miles in my head. I listened to my body. If I felt good I would run a little further or faster. If I wasn't feeling so hot I would slow my pace or cut the run short. If my knees or shins started to give me problems I would take a few days off. I try to do a couple of short runs, around 30 minutes or so and one longer run, around an hour, each week.
After a few months of running like this I can say that I am totally in love with running again. It's not about how fast or how far I run. I simply live in the moment. I get lost in the rhythm of the music playing through my ear buds. I take in sights of the blossoming trees, the setting sun, the little birds, bunnies and squirrels scurrying about. I breath deeply and take in the scents of freshly cut grass, flowering trees and rain. When I'm running now, the rest of the world just seems to fade away. It's all about me and the road ahead.
So far I haven't lost motivation. I've found that I still have the internal drive to push myself while running. I'm getting in great shape; I feel stronger and healthier both physically and mentally. I can run a little further and a little faster each week. My last long run was just shy of 8 miles and I loved every minute of it. I definitely see myself running in competitive races again in the future. Completing a marathon is on my bucket list. I think with my new outlook on running, training in the future will be much more enjoyable.
So, my advice to any of you that are wanting to start or get back into running but are a little hesitant: get out of your head and and into your running shoes. Don't think about it so much, just be in the moment. Make a playlist of your favorite songs and listen to them while running. My current running playlist is chalk full of Bon Iver, The Head & The Heart, Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers, The Civil Wars and other relaxing music I can get totally lost in. Start running slow and low, maybe just a mile at first. Once you get comfortable and can run that easily go a little further. Push yourself but also listen to your body. You'll know when to slow it down or take some time off. Before you know it you'll be loving your runs and how they make you feel just like I do.
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