I'm over 55, healthy, with decent joints and no major pain areas. My occupation is not physically demanding (assistant professor at a local state college) and doesn't require a long commute. My formal education is basically completed, my children are grown with families of their own and do not live in my locale. I've battled high cholesterol for many years and recently become a vegetarian (much easier by the way than I expected). I am in a happy relationship, my yard only needs occasional mowing by my "gardening guy" and my veggie garden just needs its tomatoes & green beans planted. It was time to try running.
My youngest son and his wife are runners and both have served as my inspiration. Always positive, encouraging me daily, praising every small (and large) success, "my kids" particularly my daughter-in-law, have given me countless tips on beginning running. My friends, while surprised, are generally supportive, some envious, others happy for me but disinterested in the mundane details of my runs. In other words, support for this venture has been ongoing and overwhelming.
So this blog will be about my progress as I train for the Falmouth Road Race, a Cape Cod favorite race, run in every August. FRR route is 7 miles long, with 2 large hills initially. The course winds around a lighthouse, through woodsy areas, and then finishes with a long stretch of road along Vineyard Sound and a final hill right before the finish line. I've lived on Cape Cod for 23 years and always thought about "running Falmouth" usually on the day of the race, but forgotten by the next day.
This year was different. I started consistently walking on my treadmill last Oct. in an effort to lose those last 10 lbs and to create some space for myself to sort out some emotions related to a family rough patch. By Christmas I noticed that walking was okay, but as the family issues worked themselves out, walking became boring. There was no challenge, no goal. I need challenges & goals to feel and be "in the present". There's nothing worse than an irrelevant life. And I will not go easily into that good night. So I decided to try running. I've always told my children (and my students) that you can't win if you don't play. There's no disgrace in failing - just in failing to try. I decided to try.
I bought running books, running magazines, running shoes, running clothes, running hats. I downloaded a list of 5K races in my area. I spent the better part of the winter of 2009 learning about the "run/walk system", "hill drills", "glides" and icing icing and more icing. I learned to live with muscular discomfort after runs. I learned that the discomfort is short-lived and won't kill me. I learned that contrary to those happy runners in TV commercials, running on a beach is a surfire way to sprain a knee and lose precious training time. I called it "running while stupid". I learned that people over 50 don't experience thirst the way younger runners do and I had to make a concerted effort to drink water even when I wasn't thirsty. Along the way, I ditched meat, refined sugar, and that glass of wine with dinner the night before a "long run". A cup of black coffee & a banana became my pre-run nutrition, yogurt on cereal my after-run breakfast, replacing the Dunkin Donuts bagel I'd come to look forward to. I learned to tolerate the cold and began to appreciate how the cool air felt on my hot skin even as I ran in our cold New England January.
I ran my 1st 5K in late Feb. 09, an evening run with a local running club, including 2 Olympians. It was dark, freezing cold, and I ran alone after the 1st 30 seconds. I had to call for back-up. My spouse drove behind me, the headlights lighting my footsteps. I made it back to the starting point (a running shoe store) in 45 minutes where the 2 Olympians were drinking beer with the rest of the runners and waiting for "the gal who's running her first race". We took pictures and they gave me their autographs. It was a night to remember.
When I started running, I was able to run 1 minute before I had to stop, legs screaming, lungs about to give up. I ran 5 miles yesterday, and walked another mile during warm-up and cool-down. I ran up 6 hills. I came home, cleaned my house, went shopping, and finished the day with dinner at a restaurant. I'm amazed what my body is doing for me. It works. It talks to me and I listen now. It's doing what the books say it will do if I do my part.
Along the way, my mood stabilized and clarity returned to my thinking. I didn't need meds, I didn't need a therapist. I needed time for me, oxygen for my brain and a challenge for my body. Running gave me all that and more.
I'm going on vacation next week with friends and we're all planning to run together every day. I'll let you know how we do.
