Running

I have always hated running. . . really hated it with a passion.  I’m more of a sprinter type and not so much an endurance runner.  Unfortunately as an adult there just aren’t a lot of sprint running clubs so I gave in and started running short distances a little over a year and a half ago when my neighbor and I decided to run a 5k – regrettably we trained independently.  I have had to rework my thinking around distance running and realize that, for me, it is more about distance and less about time, especially when conditioning my body to run any sort of distance for the first time in my life. 

I trained successfully for months but it was lonely; I could never seem to find a consistent running partner.  Last summer I ended up only running a handful of times but played Ultimate Frisbee once a week and that seemed to be enough to make the occasional 5K fun run possible, although I knew I wasn’t doing enough to maintain a good weight or cardio health. 

In the spring of this year our Stake put on a free 5k fun run.  I invited my neighbor (same one as previously mentioned) to come do the run and she and I ended up running it together.  At this point I hadn’t run in over 5 months, due to some foot pain, and was actually very surprised that I completed the course without walking.  Granted, by the end of the run I was seeing stars and my legs truly wanted to give out – but I did it.  It was then that she and I realized we could actually run together a few times a week.  It only took us over a year to come to this realization . . . doh!

Here it is, several months later, and she and I run 3 to 4 times a week together for usually 3.5 miles each run.  I don’t think I could go back to running by myself; I’m just not that motivated.  We enjoy a half hour of sharing thoughts and ideas while simultaneously motivating each other to push a little harder or go a little farther – which is especially helpful on days when energy levels are lagging.  It has been really nice and has strengthened our friendship tenfold. 

As a result of more time spent running than ever before there are two things that I recognize that I knew before but didn’t really “know” before.  First, sleep really affects my energy level and second, food does the same thing.  I really feel (and I mean “really feel”) the difference in my ability to have a good run (good run is defined as “feeling revived and energized at the end of the run”) vs. feeling sluggish the entire run and exhausted by the end.  This has been the most powerful motivator for me, personally, to eat the very best foods and get a good night’s rest.  Prior to this I haven't physically felt how sleep and food combine to give me more energy, but that probably indicates how little I had consistently exerted myself in the past.

This morning I got up at 6:30am (of my own free will, be amazed – this is surely not normal behavior) to ensure that I would have time to eat a good breakfast well before my 8am run with my buddy.  It is a beautiful September morning, cool and crisp with full sun.  It was glorious to be out basking in this pre-fall splendor and, surprisingly (at least to me), really loving to run.