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| Me getting ready for my second 5k in 2012. |
I used to not be very active or health conscious. After moving to San Francisco with its agreeable, must-go-out-and-run weather, things changed. Seeing so many other runners enjoying getting fit in the temperate weather and fresh air inspired my husband and I. We started with the Couch to 5k program and since then have run thousands of miles together. Seriously, if I add it up, it's got to be in the thousands!
The best running I've done, though, has been in this year, my 30th year. This past July, I finished the San Francisco Half in about 2 hours and 48 minutes, never stopping once. Never stopping once! That was my biggest running accomplishment to date. I still can't believe I freaking ran nonstop for almost three hours. As crazy as it sounds, I can't wait to do it again!
During my training for the upcoming Healdsburg Wine Country Half, I've been thinking more specifically about why I love running. Here is a list of 13.1 (har har) reasons why I'm happy running has become a part of my life.
1. Music.
From mixes containing singles from Fleetwood Mac and Prodigy to full albums like Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, the perfect tunes blasting in my giant pink headphones really make a difference. I personally must have really big music laden with thoughtful lyrics (or just plain ol' silly ones). Getting into the zone with the music is essential to a good run.
I'm not going to lie, I do pretend that the music is being performed by my own imaginary band. While running, I fantasize about what my band would be called, what I would wear, what kind of guitars I would use for each part, what songs I might play simple percussion on, what my hometown comeback concert would be like. It gets in intense. When I run, I'm a rock star in my head and on the pavement.
During the latest SF Half Marathon, I was coming up on mile 8, only I didn't know it because I noticed zero mile marker signs on the route. Pulp's "This Is Hardcore" came on in my headphones. I thought "Yeah, this is hardcore. I'm hardcore, bitches!" I saw the 8 mile mark sign, feeling totally awesome, thinking "I just ran 8 miles? No way! I'm seriously hard core!"
The
first time I ran for a solid five minutes, I couldn't believe it.
2. Being in the zone.
I mentioned this phrase above. When I'm in the zone for most of my run, the run becomes meditation. I'm motionless in the moment while moving, piling on the miles while being as still as stone. Slipping into a meditative state is probably the easiest thing about running--once it happens. You can't force it to happen, it just happens. When it does and you realize later that you've been in that state, it's so rewarding. I never could, as an adult, get into meditation while simply sitting. Meditative running sort of just happened to me, and it's a gift!
3. Races are fun!
You get free snacks, coupons, a t-shirt, and camaraderie from fellow runners. Sometimes there's even beer at the finish line!
4. An excuse to wear neon.
You may remember my No Bullshit Wardrobe which consists mainly of black knits. I don't own one piece of black running wear.
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| Me after finishing the 2014 SF Half Marathon. #BUCN |
The Couch to 5k program could not have been a more perfect intro to running for me. I never knew it could or should have been done that way. You don't buy the cheapest pair of shoes and start racing at full speed only to chide yourself for only lasting a few minutes. It takes time and practice. When I in the past threw myself into running on occasion without doing any research or taking the necessary time to warm up or practice, I was only reminded of why I thought I hated it all in the first place. It's also an injury risk to run right into it (pun intended).
To help us, I drew up a schedule for our Couch to 5k training and marked down when we completed each step. Seeing our progress, our persistence, was part of our fuel. I couldn't bare not being able to cross off a day. Feeling so good about each run lead me to get up out of bed and jump into my running clothes each early morning before sunset. I certainly wasn't always chipper and happy before the runs, but I was after. I've never regretted a run!
I discovered that I can actually run for a sustained amount of time. The first time I ran for a solid five minutes, I couldn't believe it. The first time I ran for a solid twenty and completed half of a 5k, I couldn't believe it. I remember expressing such pure excitement to my husband after my first twenty minute run in Duboce Park one early November morning among happy dogs and their owners. I was almost in tears. It just took some time, building up from one minute to thirty to forty to complete 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). That's all. Patience and persistence with the sweet reward of self accomplishment.
When I run, I'm a rock star in my head and on the pavement.
6. Enjoying my surroundings.
Every time I run the two-mile loop from Church and 30th to Church and 22nd, I notice something new. Those runs from scummy SoMa to the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, climbing Fort Mason and skimming heron-speckled Crissy Field, never get old. Even though I run around Lake Merced almost every Sunday, I'm always taken by the way the elusive sun sparkles on the water, dancing on the ripples created by local rowing teams. Nature!
7. Doing a lot in thirty minutes.
Whether I'm practicing speed on the treadmill or taking a jaunt around the neighborhood, I can cover between 2.5 and 3 miles in a half hour. (Actually, 3 miles is 30 minutes is something I'm trying to get to, and it ain't easy.) Think about what 2 to 3 miles is. It's kind of far, but when you walk or run it, it's not that far. You could run to the store, buy a candy bar, and run home!
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| Me after my first 10k. |
When I pass other runners, sometimes we make eye contact and shoot each other a knowing nod or smile. I especially love acknowledging other women runners, giving them a kind of "you go girl" smile and getting one in return.
When I was doing my first 9 mile run, turning into my second loop around Lake Merced, I passed a walking gentleman for the third time. He said, "You doing this again?!" I nodded. His response? "You go girl!" And you know what, good for him for getting out and exercising too!
9. Food.
While you shouldn't go crazy, you can totally make an excuse to indulge after burning 1500+ calories from running a half marathon!
After our last one, my husband and I limped home, laid in bed for a while, and eventually forced ourselves up to Giovanni's down the street where we pounded down a large stuffed crust pepperoni pizza. And root beers. And a Cesar salad drowned in chemically-dangerous dressing. It was great.
10. Gaining a better body image.
On one of my first runs out in the neighborhood, a man hollered to me "You don't need to do that, girl! You look hella fine!" The entire spectrum of why I resent that comment could be a whole post in itself. For now, I will focus on the body image facet. Assuming I was exercising because I wanted to be thinner or want to look more "hella fine?" Boo! I wasn't trying that. I want a healthier heart, there's that. I want to be able to live as long as possible, too. Overall, losing weight isn't really in my top five.
Still, I've developed a much better outlook toward my body. Like many people who went through middle school and high school (like, everyone, right?) I had to learn to love my body. In high school, I had a difficult time managing emotions and bottled up frustrations came out as binging and purging. Really bad. I ended up losing weight, and began getting compliments on how I looked. That just fueled my bad habits. College helped me with my food issues, but after a summer in a physically demanding job loading and pushing carts of library books, I lost weight again. And, again, I was told that I looked better and again I felt pressured to keep it up or else not look good, as if being heavier meant something was wrong with me.
While training for my first half, I lost ten pounds. The loss only became truly apparent to me during a routine physical at my doctor's. She said it was a good thing, and that if I wanted to lose more, which I could if I wanted, then I should just keep doing what I've been doing. So, I have.
I don't love the way I feel when I don't run for a while. I don't love the heaviness or the softness that drifts back in. But, when I do run for months at a time and feel fit, I know it's because I am doing something healthy for me. I'm now aware of what this body of mine can actually do.
I feel every millimeter of my joints and thank humanity for inventing sweat-slicking pants so that I can run without major chaffing between my thighs (because I never likely never get a thigh gap per my body type or per lack of giving a shit).
I look at my 30-year-old body and know it can take me far. I don't see "fat" or "skinny." Sometimes I see "hella fine" sometimes I see stretch marks and blemishes and move on. I always see a body with a mind, a will, and a heart to got me far and can keep going.
High school gym class will never have anything on me.
11. Parts of your body chafe that you didn't know could chafe.
I seriously got chaffing on my face. My FACE. Wanna know how? Ask me. Why am I happy about this? It makes me laugh.
12. Why I'm here writing this today.
I talk a lot about Lake Merced. Near the end of a recent run on the 4.6~ loop, I was thinking about what in the hell I want to do with my life (besides run). I had a cliche kind of epiphany moment where I realized all I need to do is have more time for my own creativity. Not just make time, but have more time. I will get more into that in my third 3 for 30 post, but for now I can say that I wouldn't be sitting down and working on this without that clarity running brings to me.
13. High school gym class will never have anything on me.
Twice now I've announced to social media that I've completed a major race and said something along the lines of "Take that high school gym class!" I suppose I can make it a thing, maybe make a hashtag out of it. I say it over and over because the biggest hurdle for me to get into any exercising was high school gym class. For me it was rarely fun, always annoying, and never a skill-learning experience.
Think of one good memory you've had in gym class. If you've had one, please, tell the world about it. If you somehow never took a school gym class, consider this:
You're told in so many words to run four times around the track or else you won't get any credit for the day, which will count toward your final grade and graduation. The fear of actually flunking high school...yep. You're not really given any direction, just "run!" It's hot, you're already sweating from the trek from the school to the track, and you're worried about having BO in your next class. You have a history test to take later. You're hungry because the lunch options sucked. You make it a quarter of the way around the track once and quit because of the aforementioned reasons and because the boys are staring at your boobs.
So, who would ever enjoy high school gym class? (Hey, smartasses, don't say it's the boys staring at your boobs!)
Going back to my experience training, learning how to run, eating better, not caring that I'll stink on the bus ride home, not giving a shit about what dudes holler at me on the street, I've definitely conquered high school gym class. So, take THAT high school gym class!
.1 There always more miles to go...
Thanks for reading! This is the second part of my 3 for 30 series. Please come back for the last part!
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