by Claire on October 29, 2009
Seriously? Me? A runner?
My blogging buddy over at My Angle had a couple really good posts recently (here and here) about whether or not you are a real runner and it gave me some food for thought.
The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of myself as a runner was when I was a teenager living in England and going to an all girl’s English school. We had the uniforms, ties and all. One day a teacher said there would be a cross-country run that weekend and they wanted some of us to participate. As is pretty typical for me, I volunteered, having no idea what I was in for but it sounded like “fun”.
My friend and I showed up in our school PE uniforms and stood out like sore thumbs were shocked to see what we had signed up for. Here we were, complete with our PE skirts and shoes next to girls in sweats, running pants, who were stretching and warming up, and we stood around having no idea what to do. But we ran. And we ran. Up hills, down hills, slow, not so slow – don’t think we ever got to even moderately fast – and we finished at least an hour or more after everyone else finished, but we finished.
My dad and I laughed about this scene for years to come because of the incongruity of our participation in the event. We had no training, we’d never run before – other than in school sports and that was limited (I was a swimmer, not a runner) – and we obviously didn’t know what we were doing, and we certainly didn’t have the appropriate attire for the sport.
The point is none of that mattered. I just jumped in with both feet and did it. At the time, I cried when we were done because I was so exhausted. I pushed myself to finish something I didn’t wanted to do once I’d started it.
A few years later, when I went to a boarding school in the south of England (that’s the actual school in the picture), a class mate and I did some more running. We’d run a few miles through the English countryside, and then she taught me how to sprint the last jog back downhill into the school parking lot. It was during one of those sprints at the end of a run that I experienced what I’d call my first “runner’s high” where there was so much energy and vitality and oxygen going through my system that I literally felt as if I was walking six inches off the ground.
Fast forward about thirty years.
Here I am, nearly 80 pounds lost, and I’m running. I’ve done two 5k runs now and am starting to train for a 12k run in December. I have no idea whether I have the right technique, whether I’m wearing the right clothes – although I do have the right shoes – or if I’m breathing right or running fast enough. But I’m running. Clearly, that drive to do something I’ve never done before without totally knowing what I’m letting myself in for has not left me. I still tend to do things because they sound fun with very little thought given to whether I have the physical ability to do it or not.
The point is I’m doing, which is way more than I’ve done in years past. When my friend recently said to me “You’re a runner now”, I almost corrected her but then I thought about it. Yes, I am. I may not be a marathon runner like Kara Goucher (yet?), or the fastest runner in my category. I’m no longer sitting by dreaming of getting off my butt and moving, watching my life go by like I’ve done for years, but I’m stepping out and living it. I don’t care (much) what my speed is unless it’s to improve upon my own personal best.
I’m putting one foot in front of the other and moving, and isn’t that the point? (Oh, yeah, and to want to have a body like Kara’s doesn’t hurt either.)
Tagged as:
Guildford High School,
Health,
pesistence,
Running,
sports,
Weight Loss
by Claire on October 28, 2009
I love Twitter and Facebook because it gives me a chance to blurt out whatever it is I’m thinking about at that very moment. Great for my ADD. Lousy for blog writing. So, since I like alliteration (the writer in me) I came up with this title to tell y’all what’s on my mind.
Got to see baby Laila through an ultrasound yesterday at the perinatologist. My daughter’s pregnancy is now coming along just fine and so far, the earlier worries of her pregnancy have dissipated. Baby is progressing “perfectly” according to the doctor, heartbeat is strong, weight is good, and everything is looking right on cue for 21 weeks. We tried hard to get some good 3D pictures, but Laila was moving a LOT and it was difficult. Now, this picture may look strange to many, but to me, she looks totally adorable. I can see the button nose, can’t you?
My favorite part was when the ultrasound tech said “You gotta be quick to catch her.” You think maybe that was a prophetic statement for when she starts crawling or walking?
It still feels funny around here not to have our kitty Merlin. My daughter is understandably still distraught, but it’s easing somewhat. The other two cats have been velcro kitties toward me. I look around different places in the home and I expect to see Merlin sprawled out somewhere and he’s not, and when I remember what happened I get this little catch in my heart and a twinge of sadness. I suspect that will take a long time – if ever – to go away.
My oldest daughter is crocheting up a storm and I’m so proud of her. She’s become this cute little crafter with ideas popping up all over the place, just like her mommy. Yup, I’m prouder than proud. And she does a great job too – she’s going to be selling her creations to make some extra pocket money. (And if you’re interested in something, just let me know – I’ll hook you right up with her. She’ll be getting a website as soon as she comes up with a name for her little business.)
(Child’s hat)
(Set of 3 washcloths)
Saturday is Halloween and I have no costume. No time to sew one, and I’m not going to pay $40 for a store-bought one. I do have a beautiful black velvet cape, a feather boa, and a black witch hat. Any ideas?
I’m ticked off at myself for getting lax with my Weight Watchers program. This week I gained 2 pounds. The same 2 pounds I’ve been losing and gaining for the last 2 months. This is seriously irritating me and I’m stubborn enough to not let it go further. So I’m back focused, tracking, and mostly picking up my activity level. I’m going to be training for another run in December – I’ll tell you about that in a separate post – and hopefully this will melt the weight off faster and I’ll hit goal by the end of the year. My biggest obstacle right now is fatigue. I’m just tired all the time. Some of this is fibromyalgia, some is stress, and some is just plain not enough sleep. So I’m working on that too.
Finally, I’m grateful to have a job. I’m grateful for a lot of things in my life, but primarily that. My new manager on this contract – who I’ve worked with before – sent me a message yesterday that she was going to assign me some work and wanted to let me know in advance so I wouldn’t freak out. I guaranteed her it takes a lot more than a work assignment to freak me out. If she asked me to come in and wash her windows or get her her coffee, I’d do it. No joke. I’m happy to have the income and when I see my friends who have been unemployed for a year, I am doubly grateful.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Tagged as:
crafts,
crochet,
employment,
Halloween,
holidays,
pregnancy,
ultrasounds,
unemployment,
weight gain,
Weight Watchers
The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of myself as a runner was when I was a teenager living in England and going to an all girl’s English school. We had the uniforms, ties and all. One day a teacher said there would be a cross-country run that weekend and they wanted some of us to participate. As is pretty typical for me, I volunteered, having no idea what I was in for but it sounded like “fun”.
