Ummm.....am I actually a runner?

I have always hated to run and I  thought running hated me.  I  have very short legs for my body (its trues, stand me next to a 5 ft person and our legs will be the same size) and used this as an excuse of why I did not like to run.  

Not only did I not like to run, I was slow.  Playing sports growing up, this was a pain.   I always dreaded running suicides in basketball where we had to make it over the baseline in 25 seconds or we had to run them again.  I got there each time in 24.9 seconds, sometimes diving to get across the line.   In softball, if the game was on the line and I got a hit, I got pulled for a Jacoby Ellsbury to run for me. Well...this actually happened only once but I remember it.

Because of this, I never really had fun running or ever wanted to do it.  It has always been a chore.  In college, for lacrosse, we had to get our mile under 7 30.  I set the treadmill to the speed I needed and trained for weeks to be able to run that time once.    I forced myself to run the last few years because was the easiest exercise but I never was comfortable.

With all of that said, funny how things turn out.  Running was the first sign that last year my body was changing and I was getting  stronger.  It had become my ally when the scale told me that I weighed the same.   When I could run a little bit more or go a little faster, this was the push that I needed to keep working out.  Very slowly, I was becoming a runner.  My first ah ha moment was Thanksgiving weekend and I went for the '5 mile'. This is a route that my family and friends have been walking or biking for years through the base of Storm King Mountain and through both the town and village.  I decided I was going to see how much of it I could run.  Though at a fairly slow pace, I ended up completing the whole thing.   I remember walking for days thinking 'I ran the freaking 5 mile, you rock'

Running and I were finally becoming friends.  Over the next few months I ran on the treadmill for longer distances or higher settings.  Then, when I signed up for the MORE Half Marathon, I signed up for a running class to really teach me to run and prepare. This is where running and I went from the friend you may say hi to in class, to the friend you wanted to sit next to and hangout with all the time - BFF.

The first class, we were timed for our mile and some how I was not slow anymore.  I ran a 7 50 mile the first time and 7 45 the second go around with ease.   This was without setting the treadmill to the speed for two months of practice.  My friend Lisa in the class made the comment that I was fast and I said 'ah...no, I cant be fast, I have always been slow.....that is just who I am'.  

Over the last few weeks I have started to realize how far I have come from my basketball suicide days.  I look forward to each Tuesday and Thursday classes, and my weekend long runs.  Sometimes I even get excited (just dont tell my running coach Terence that).  I know that all the stress that I have built up will be gone by then end of the run.  I actually like sprinting and running up hills because I still get amazed that I am doing it.  

So now here comes the interesting part.  I registered for the MORE with no expectation except to finish.  I initially did not care what my time was at all.  Then last week, Terence told me my expected time based upon my training times (2:00) and then also said he told me what he thought I could do, 1:54   I cant decide if I want to hit him right now or say thanks (I am leaning towards smacking him......its Terence).   Without realizing it (or maybe he did), he set up a challenge for me.  My competitive nature and the 3rd born syndrome of always wanting to prove you can do what your sisters do, came out.  Now that he told me that time, I have it in my head that I am going to meet it or do better.   I am going to prove I can do it. 

This week, I have started to focus more on my training runs, watching my form and pushing a little harder to prepare.   So I guess I will admit....I probably should say thanks.  I was shown a challenge that turned into a goal that is helping me push myself a little farther.

Now we will have to wait to see if the 'i hate jogging, dreading suicides, slow running girl' will push her way to meet that 1:54 challenge.  3 weeks will tell.