Yesterday while I was running I noticed a girl on one of the
ellipticals kept watching me. Whenever I looked in the reflection I noticed her
watching me run. I knew the look on her face so well. I remember very well
being the girl on the elliptical, struggling for 30 minutes, watching the girls
on the treadmills, run that whole time and not seem to struggle. I remember
being so jealous of them, and so determined to become them.
I wanted so badly to go and give that girl a high five. I
wanted to tell her that just two years ago, I was her, and couldn’t run a
minute on the treadmill at 4mph, let alone 5mph for 40 minutes. I wanted to
tell her to stick with it, and to tell her how worth it, it would be. The thing
that held me back is that I know 2 years ago I would have heard condescension,
not support from those treadmill girls. So I smiled when she made eye contact
and she smiled back and I hope she keeps it up.
I’m so excited that it’s spring and I’m getting back into
running, especially outside running. It is so much better, in every way than
treadmill running. Roommate has agreed to run a half marathon with me, and I’m
SO excited. We’ve decided to do the Rock and Roll half on June 22. On Sunday we
ran the St. Pat’s Day Dash, as a kick off to our training. It’s about 4 miles,
and it’s definitely more of a fun run than a competition. There were 15k registrants,
and the majority of people ran in costume.
Roommate texted me about the run on Friday, and I did a late
registration for both of us and we got up early Sunday morning to do the race.
This was the first time I realized that I’m a runner. I know, I’ve done Tough
Mudder and a triathlon, and a half marathon, but I still usually think of
myself as a fitness poser, and that I don’t really belong, I’m just faking it.
We registered on Friday. I spent Friday night out with
friends until the very wee hours, then got up Saturday and cheered the Sounders
on to a draw, then Sunday we ran the race. I didn’t spend any time training; I
didn’t even slow down my beer consumption, or worry about my sleeping habits. I
spent the weekend as I normally would have, then got up Sunday and ran 4 miles.
I wasn’t sore, I didn’t need to walk, I wasn’t praying for the finish line. The
next day I ran another 3 miles at the gym. It blows my mind; that I can do that
now.
When I ran my first 5k, I trained for weeks, when I ran my
first relay marathon (6.5miles) I trained for months. I don’t even want to get
started on how long I trained for my first half. I honestly didn’t even give a
lot of thought to the ease of Sunday, until I saw my former self staring at me
in the gym last night.
It’s awesome to take a minute and see exactly how far I’ve
come. It also renews my excitement about things to come! As I said roommate and
I are running a half marathon on June 22, then on July 21 we’re once again
doing the Chelanman Triathlon. Training for those events, in addition to
playing soccer on Tuesday and Volleyball on Thursday should keep me busy, happy
and super fit!
Happy Almost Spring Everyone!
