Sunday, May 8, 2011

What I Gained From a 20 Minute Run


My run this morning was 20 minutes long. I know, you’re confused. I normally count my runs in hours, not minutes. What’s the catch? Did I run on one foot? On my hands?

You’re right, there is a catch. I ran for 20 minutes this morning – AFTER I completed a 20 minute resistance band workout, and THEN went on a 1 hour bike ride (and almost lost life and limb when a woman was turning towards me from the left lane into the left lane, and I lawfully was turning from the right lane to the right lane, but I digress). I’m not talking about this incredibly tense (and almost life ending) workout to show off. I want to discuss the significance of a 20 minute run.

My first run ever was 20 minutes long. I did it because Peter K had been harassing me for months about running. Ok, fine, all he said was “Hey, Al, have you ever tried running?”, but I could feel the peer pressure. At any rate, one evening I decided to try it. I put on the only sneakers I had and went out. I ran 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back. When I came home I was sweaty and out of breath, and I knew I had a new hobby.

But I had more than a new hobby. I had a new subject to learn about. Words like “pronation”, “carb loading” and “fartlek” (really, that is a word, and yes, you can say it in front of your kids) entered my vocabulary. I started scouring the internet for the best deals on running shoes, and developed a fascination for moisture wicking clothing. I remember the day that my husband, Wil, was doing laundry (oh, don’t feel bad for him. His household chore is “laundry”, and mine is “everything except laundry”), and as he was folding my stuff he giggled and said, “Ali, you have more running clothes in the laundry then work stuff. Do you still have your job, or is there something you need to tell me?”

But running was more than a new subject matter for me to study. It was a foundation for me to build my fitness and health on. Short runs turned into long runs, long runs turned into races. My first race was 4 miles long. My fourth race was a half marathon. I had lost most of my weight before I started running, but running itself was a great motivator for keeping the pounds off. Who wants to drag themselves over Heartbreak Hill in Central Park with an extra 2 pounds hanging on their ass?

Running was still more than a foundation. It was also a stepping stone to a new level of fitness. After running regularly for about 6 months, Peter K once again pressured me: “Hey, Al, ever thought of doing a triathlon?” And again, I had more to learn about: wetsuits, road bikes, transitions, “bonking” (again, another word totally appropriate for your G-Rated audience). I started waking up at 4 AM to get in swims, bike rides and runs before work. I learned about “brick workouts”, where you bike or do spin class for a ridiculously long time and then just when you feel like your legs are made of Jello, you hop off the bike and go for a run so your legs can learn to adjust to the new workout (which after over a year of doing bricks, I can comfortably say that they never completely learn to adjust).

And running was more than that stepping stone. It has made me a bit of an anomaly. How many 42 year olds do you know who own a wetsuit and have a favorite flavor of something called “Gu”?

And more than being an anomaly, running has taught me about challenge and accomplishment. Three years ago I dreaded walking a half mile to the train station and was a regular at my town’s local ice cream shop. Yesterday I registered for an Olympic distance triathlon (1 mile swim, 21 mile bike ride, 6.2 mile run), that I will do in August, about 2 months before I run the New York Marathon in early November. Since I started doing races, I have run 23 of them: 18 running races, 3 triathlons, 1 duathlon, and a 66 flight stair climb.

I have been running for just over 2 years now. In that time, I’ve done over 300 runs, and run over 2,000 miles in total. Today’s three part workout was challenging, but not unusual for me (well, almost getting hit by a car was relatively new, but the rest was somewhat routine). My point is that you shouldn’t let challenges hold you back. Embrace them, even if they terrify you. You will absolutely amaze yourself. Just start small, and be prepared to look back later and have your own mind blown away by the incredible things you have done. Do you have 20 minutes today? Maybe think about grabbing whatever sneakers you have and going for a run J.

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