For the Run Of It

Thursday, January 10

Today marks my first day of training with another person. I was extremely excited when my good friend Tia (who is a runner) said that she was available to run with me. I didn't quite know if she agreed to do this because:

A. She had to see the spectacle that is yours truly on the treadmill, gasping for breath, face red as a beet.

B. She needed a confidence boost. Tia is thinking of running the Eugene Marathon in 4 short months and no doubt needed to feel good about her running ability, or

C. She needed a good laugh and honestly, dear reader, there really is no better source of good old fashioned humor.

Whatever the case, Tia did join me and it was a great experience because I was able to see what was ahead for me if I just work hard at this. At first,I was a little nervous because it had been so long ago that I had a running companion. I wasn't sure if I would prefer to NOT talk at all. I had forgotten my iPod in the car and didn't go and get it because I assumed Tia and I would chat for the entire session. I quickly became uncertain, however, once I stepped into the cardio room. All of that equipment is just intimidating to me and I quickly lost confidence. Oh well, I thought. It's only 30 minutes and at least there's headline news...

But Wait! Once I got to my treadmill, feeling vulnerable enough without my iPod, a stark reality came into being: The TV was turned to a SOAP OPERA instead of headline news. I felt an overwhelming, impending sense of doom. Not only was I unsure as to my ability to hold a conversation while running, My #1 and #2 distractions were out of the picture. I decided the best policy was to (yep, you've guessed it) fake that I was confident and try to put all of those irrational fears out of my head.

I had told her the day prior of my (albeit small) victory with the run-walk, run-walk method and she looked speculative. She is a true runner, which (I'm guessing) means that when you enter a race to run, you run the entire thing. She seemed dubious as to the effectiveness, but I held my ground, maintaining that even all out marathoners swear by it, saying they improve their running times because of the recovery period that comes along throughout the race.

As we began the run, I immediately proclaimed that I would be stopping at 8 minutes to walk, lest Tia conclude that I couldn't really hack it. No, I needed to make sure she knew that while I LOOKED like I couldn't possibly run any further, I actually could (well, maybe) but planned to walk as part of a legitimate marathon method. So, once that was out of the way, I fell into a great groove. I learned that as long as I'm able to focus on things other than the stats on the treadmill, glowing in red lights at me, I am able to go for quite a while, and even at a decent pace.

Talking while running proved to be doable for me. Sure, as the conversation went on and time passed, those breaths were heavier and heavier and the words were fewer and further between; but hey - I could (for the most part) still understand most of what I was speaking. Tia is planning a wedding, so we are able to discuss at length all of the details that weddings require. We ladies will never tire of wedding talk. So, before I knew it, I'd run, walked, and was running again - and I was about 2/3 of the way done!

This was a good run for me. It still seems like an insurmountable task to run an entire marathon, but I'm quite certain that if I stick to a program and stay focused, I'll at least finish. This is still exciting and new to me, so I actually look forward to the runs and the blog entries. I'm hoping the novelty of it all sticks around.