Chomp!
April 1st, 2010 § 25 Comments
Something incredible happened this week. Something amazing, something that’s been a long time coming.
Ladies and gentlemen, blends, friends and strangers,
I have been bitten by the running bug.
Now, you might be scratching your head, thinking, “Hold the phone. I thought you run all the time? Aren’t you training for a half marathon? Whaaaa?”
Yes, yes. I have been running consistently since last summer when I quit smoking. Yes I have raced before and have another one in a month (a month?! Ahh!) but this week everything clicked.
Enter Monday. After two rest days and a day at work that left me considering pulling out multiple chunks of my own hair, I ate a late lunch of the kitchen disaster manicotti at 4 p.m. By 6:45 I was headed out the door to tackle a short run. I was thinking I’d only do about three miles or so because I didn’t want to be running all over the City in the dark. Right off the bat, something in this run felt different. I literally felt like my feet were lighter. I had absolutely no pain anywhere. Throughout my entire training, I’ve been dealing with a sore back and the end of my tailbone pain and last weekend I took a spill that left my ankles, feet and knees bruised so I was very hesitant in believing I wouldn’t be ouch-ing my way through several miles.
I decided to go with it, half expecting to feel a little burnt out, but fully hoping the feeling would last. As I ran the course I run every day, I snuck several glances my Garmin reading paces in the 8:00-10:00 mile ranges. For someone who averages a nice jog around 11:00ish or slower, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept checking the screen to make sure some crazy magnetic force wasn’t bouncing off sky scrapers and throwing it off. As my distance increased, I maintained my quicker pace, realizing I was soon going to hit a record time. I crossed an intersection by PNC Park and looked down just as I hit the 5K mark. I stopped the Garmin, and stood there in disbelief.
I shaved five minutes off my best 5K time. Five whole minutes!! I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to cry, I wanted to laugh, to jump up and down, to hug someone – tell someone!
I looked at the screen, took in the moment for what it was, walked a block and started running again.
I ran around the stadiums and back to my neighborhood. It was dusk by this time and I was still on top of the world. I knew my training plan called for 4.5 miles and I was less than a mile off at that point so I decided to run around my block a few times. I took to the street instead of the side walk and felt like I was 100 feet tall. I had to have been glowing at this point because I just wanted to burst with happiness.
Being the over analyst that I am, I tried to justify my record time with factors from my day – I did have two cups of coffee, I did have a large serving of pasta before my run, I did rest for days prior. Surely, this was a fluke and I’d return to my normal easy jogs. I mean, I have never been an athlete in my life. As my mother puts it, I joined sports for the social aspect of it. I have always envied my friends who excel at a sport (or at three and four as many of them do.) “Running” a mile in high school took me 15 minutes. Last summer, I huffed and puffed to even run a solid minute. Heck, I have struggled some days just to pump out a mile.
I’ve had two runs since, one very short and one a PDR of 6.5 miles. Neither gave me that floating feeling. Both left me itching to hit the pavement again. Neither of them had me running as fast the entire time. Both had me running that fast at least part of the time.
What I can tell you is this: running feels more natural now than it ever has. It feels like writing does to me. It feels like home. It feels like something I should and will be doing for the rest of my life.I know something clicked and I know that my life will never be the same.
And in keeping the two in comparison, neither writing nor running is easy. In fact, I find them to be two of the most challenging tasks I take on every day. But with that challenge comes reward. There are times the words just flow from my brain to my finger tips and times where I get stuck for hours, days even. There are times where my feet feel like air and times when they feel like cement blocks.
Will I have bad runs? Yup. Will I struggle to write posts and content? Absolutely.
Will the PDRs and record times keep coming in? Without a doubt. Will I reach my goals of being published again? If I can dream it I can do it.
Right now, I think I’ll just ride out the feeling of weightlessness and continue to feel like I can fly.
Ha I LOVE that first pic. Those pics around the city are great, too.
Dude, I wish I knew what great running was. As for now, I’ll stick to I’d-rather-stick-nails-in-my-eyes-than-run mantra.
That is AWESOME! I have yet to get to that point, but have had the feeling that some runs (or jogs for me) feel better than others. I’ll keep at it and can’t wait to see your smiling face come across the finish line next month!
PS-I used to smoke too, the hits just keep on comin!
That is so great that it has clicked! I have been having some ennjoyment in running lately, too, but I haven’t gone over 5 miles of straight running yet. I usally throw in some walking because straight running bores me. Congrats on the awesome run. I definately understand what you mean by activities or hobbies feeling like home. That has been happening to me lately, too. Painting, cooking (especially baking now), and my boyfriend are my current homes.
Great post.
Oh that is awesome! Don’t you love it? You’re getting sucked in… lol.
That’s awesome
Your pics are great too, that’s a fair amount of bridges you run across!
Love this post, and love those pics!
Yeah! That’s awesome, you are going to rock this half (at least one of us will!)
I love the pics on the bridge!
Oh girl you’re gonna SMOKE me in this race!!!
Great post! I can so relate to this.
YAY!!! I’ve been having some discouraging runs. We really need to get together to run!
Those are the best and most rewarding runs ever and make up for all the bad runs we have. I love the floating on air feeling that comes from running when everything is just going right! Glad you enjoyed such an awesome run!
I’m so excited for you girl! I’ve had a few awesome runs like that, but I wouldn’t say that running feels like home to me yet. However, after reading this I know it’s totally possible.
haha. I love the last pic. This isn’t an April Fools joke, is it?
I hope not b/c I’m so excited for you! People look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I’m a runner sometimes. Now, you get IT.
Happy Running, girl!
Heck no it’s not an April Fool’s joke!
I mean, technically I can’t fly but I am training for a half and loving it!
Congrats on catching the running bug! I think it’s sneaking up on me, just a little more slowly haha.
Hey Love!! I am so happy for you! I wish I would catch this bug……I hate running. What are your secrets?
Have a wonderful day!
XXOO
Wow, I am SO proud of you! Achieving that runner’s high, where everything fells easy and you are in love with the pavement – that’s something that only happens after lots of hard work and lots of runs. And, it’s great that you say that some days will be good and some days will be bad – that’s so true, and not just with running, or even writing! We need the bad to remind us how good the good is. They balance, and make a whole.
I’m not sure if that made sense – it’s been a long day
Have a great Friday!
this makes me so happy for you and leaves me so inspired!!! ah i love you! lets plan our next get together. no joke. lets plan it. miss you already way too much!
That is just awesome—congrats!!
And double congrats on the smoking—I quit this past winter and its been super hard but know I will benefit in the long run
congrats! you sound super duper pumped! keep up the good work!
xoxo
YAAAY! You look so beautiful and healthy! I’m so glad you caught the bug! Can’t wait for you to cross that finish line. Cool pics by the way!
your comment just made my morning! love youuuu! we need to definitely plan a race together! it’s a definite. now we just need to decide where….?
What an awesome post! I felt this way last fall and then stopped running as much over the winter. I’d love to get back to this place again, and your post is very inspiring!
Amazing post. I hate wearing shorts because I think they make me look less cute, and that is RIDIC. Especially when I know how much weight I’ve lost and how much HEALTHIER I am. this societal crap kills me sometimes.
GREAT post, dear.
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