Six weeks ago I started a Learn to Run clinic at The Running Room.
I really didn’t want to.
But: I was going with a friend, so I stuck it out, even when every fibre of my being cried out, “why? Why are you doing this to me?” The first week was NOT fun but, as I told myself when it was over, I was neither the slowest one or the fattest one in our group, and sad as it may be, I took a lot of consolation in that knowledge.
Weeks two and three weren’t much better. The weather got nasty (as in snowing nasty) and they started to take us running up hills. When it’s pissing down big, wet, cold, sloppy snowflakes on your head (and in the back of your neck), and you have to run for three minutes straight up a steep hill and you’re as fat and unfit as I am right now; well, it pretty much just sucks. A lot.
But at some point along the way between weeks three and six, something happened to me. First of all, the running part doesn’t hurt nearly as much. Well, okay, the first 2-3 minutes make me feel like I’m going to puke blood, suffocate and die, but then that goes away and it’s just not that hard anymore (except for the hills. Hills are always a bitch). And secondly, my attitude has changed. For the first few weeks it was only a sense of obligation to my friend that kept me going to the thrice-weekly runs, but now it turns out that when my friend has been unable to make a bunch of our group runs, I’ve gone on my own.
I know!
I’ve thought a lot about why this is, because I’ve always been one of those people who said I would do a lot of things, but I would never take up running. Well here’s the thing: first I had a reason to sorta force me to go (obligation to my friend), and then I found out that there were lots of others like me in the group, so I didn’t need to be ashamed of my size or fitness level. Then, I actually started to feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing a group run, and that exhilaration has started to last longer and longer. But for me, the key thing has been running in a group. Only twice I’ve tried running on my own (if I had to miss a group run) and I really, really didn’t like it. I was bored, unmotivated and felt like hell. But if I have even one other person to share it with (although honestly, the more the better) I am happy to go.
Take yesterday for instance. I was up bright and early and down at Calgary’s Baker Bark on the shores of the Bow River to meet my Learn to Run group for our Sunday run. We met at 8:45 and then we ran six sets of 6:1 intervals (that means we ran for six minutes straight and then took a walk break for one minute, six times). We followed that up with a short dash to the “finish” of our loop, and in the end, we clocked 4.8 kilometres. Not bad for a group whose goal is to complete a 5km race on June 20th (Loops for the Troops).
After our run, most of the group met up at the local Starbucks for coffee (or other indulgences) and a chat. And I felt completely exhilarated until afternoon. This week I have to miss Wednesday’s and Friday’s group runs because of family commitments, but I plan to get out with my friend and make up those days so that come Sunday morning, we’ll be raring to go again.
Good for you, Kath! I grew up with a sister who loved to run, and I never really “got it”. I finally signed up for a Learn to Run clinic, and I realized that running was not the lonely, solitary activity that I’d assumed it was. The running community is fun, enthusiastic and very sociable. Since that initial clinic, I’ve done others, run with a partner, and trained on my own. I love that running can offer me whatever it is I’m looking for; time to myself or a social outing!