Below that is my latest column:)
"Running is stupid"
My coworkers and friends have been hearing this phrase — “running is stupid” — for the past four months.
And after completing my first attempt at running a half marathon last weekend, I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be hearing more of it, but maybe not for a while.
I’m no stranger to half and whole marathons, but usually you’ll catch me walking them for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This year, I’ll be completing my sixth such event. I’ve logged more than 165 event miles, and hundreds more in training.
Running is different. Running is my archnemesis. I’ve never been an athlete, so this means I consider my cardiovascular system to be completely wimpy. For years, if I even attempted to run for a minute, my entire body would jump up into my brain screaming that we needed to stop immediately before my heart shut down and I stopped breathing.
But the big 3-0 birthday is creeping up at a rapid pace and it seems like if I’m going to have to turn old, then I should do so in the best shape of my life, or pretty darn close to it.
Running is as close to a whole-body workout as one can get, so I figured it wouldn’t kill me to tackle it.
Fast-forward from that tackling decision to last Saturday, when I’m 12 miles into my 13.1-mile half marathon. I was feeling pretty confident that dying would be better than having to complete the last mile of the race.
I learned a couple things. I’m not a jogger. I’m either a runner or a walker. There was no in-between. Either I was flat-out running (although I was desperately trying to slow down to no avail) or I was walking.
The problem with this grand walk-run strategy that I had come up with was that not only were my running muscles sore, but so were my walking muscles. For those who think they are one and the same, I’m here to tell you they’re not. Go out and go for eight miles or so doing each and you’ll know I’m right.
Running folk say it’s all about pacing. Somewhere between running and walking is the jogging sweet spot. I can find it on the treadmill, once in a great while, but finding it on the road is a different story. It takes too much self-regulation and self-restraint, and I clearly have none.
My buddy, Rachel, who I started the race with, was completing her 10th half marathon that day. She’s the master of pacing. She has a firm strategy where she runs three minutes, walks one minute. This was my goal, too, until mile 2. Yeah, mile 2. So much for all that training, right?
When all was said and done, I beat my goal by about four minutes. I wanted to complete the race in under an average of 15-minute miles. Not quick, by any means, but respectable. Rachel beat her personal best time by almost 10 minutes, which was incredible.
I’m very appreciative to my co-worker, Tim, who had endless advice (he’s an actual runner, not a faker like me) on everything from shoes to Gu’s. Fiance Peter also gets tons of props for sacrificing time with me during training when I had to put in three, five, 10-mile runs.
People keep asking if I’m addicted yet. Certainly not! That runner’s high thing still eludes me, but I do like a good challenge, so I’m sure there’s another race in my future. It just may be a long, long time from now.
Gal on the Go appears every other week, alternating with Jennifer Huffman’s Surrendering to Motherhood. Contact Michelle at mchoat@napanews.com.
And after completing my first attempt at running a half marathon last weekend, I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be hearing more of it, but maybe not for a while.
I’m no stranger to half and whole marathons, but usually you’ll catch me walking them for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This year, I’ll be completing my sixth such event. I’ve logged more than 165 event miles, and hundreds more in training.
Running is different. Running is my archnemesis. I’ve never been an athlete, so this means I consider my cardiovascular system to be completely wimpy. For years, if I even attempted to run for a minute, my entire body would jump up into my brain screaming that we needed to stop immediately before my heart shut down and I stopped breathing.
But the big 3-0 birthday is creeping up at a rapid pace and it seems like if I’m going to have to turn old, then I should do so in the best shape of my life, or pretty darn close to it.
Running is as close to a whole-body workout as one can get, so I figured it wouldn’t kill me to tackle it.
Fast-forward from that tackling decision to last Saturday, when I’m 12 miles into my 13.1-mile half marathon. I was feeling pretty confident that dying would be better than having to complete the last mile of the race.
I learned a couple things. I’m not a jogger. I’m either a runner or a walker. There was no in-between. Either I was flat-out running (although I was desperately trying to slow down to no avail) or I was walking.
The problem with this grand walk-run strategy that I had come up with was that not only were my running muscles sore, but so were my walking muscles. For those who think they are one and the same, I’m here to tell you they’re not. Go out and go for eight miles or so doing each and you’ll know I’m right.
Running folk say it’s all about pacing. Somewhere between running and walking is the jogging sweet spot. I can find it on the treadmill, once in a great while, but finding it on the road is a different story. It takes too much self-regulation and self-restraint, and I clearly have none.
My buddy, Rachel, who I started the race with, was completing her 10th half marathon that day. She’s the master of pacing. She has a firm strategy where she runs three minutes, walks one minute. This was my goal, too, until mile 2. Yeah, mile 2. So much for all that training, right?
When all was said and done, I beat my goal by about four minutes. I wanted to complete the race in under an average of 15-minute miles. Not quick, by any means, but respectable. Rachel beat her personal best time by almost 10 minutes, which was incredible.
I’m very appreciative to my co-worker, Tim, who had endless advice (he’s an actual runner, not a faker like me) on everything from shoes to Gu’s. Fiance Peter also gets tons of props for sacrificing time with me during training when I had to put in three, five, 10-mile runs.
People keep asking if I’m addicted yet. Certainly not! That runner’s high thing still eludes me, but I do like a good challenge, so I’m sure there’s another race in my future. It just may be a long, long time from now.
Gal on the Go appears every other week, alternating with Jennifer Huffman’s Surrendering to Motherhood. Contact Michelle at mchoat@napanews.com.
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