First time runner

I have always hated running. My father once had dreams of being an olympic track star. His children paid for this unfulfilled dream. At 4:00 am on school days, he would wake us up and take us to the high school track. I was 9 at the time. He had a regimented program of how many miles we were to run each day. He trained us as his marine corps background would suggest... with insults, high expectations and lots of curse words. It is not surprising that I hated running. To be perfectly honest, however, I would probably have hated running anyway. I have never been a big fan of exercise in general.

In September of this year, however, a colleague unwittingly set a series of events in motion that would change my opinion. Mary sent out a group email stating that she was going to join Fleet Feet's No Boundaries training program. They, apparently, had a program for beginners called the Couch to 5K. Mary was looking for someone to accompany her on the running adventure. I must have been drunk at work that day or something because I told her that I would attend the orientation meeting with her and would consider it. I knew I needed to start exercising more regularly. I was overweight, my cholesterol was high and hiking just isn't as much fun when your ass is weighing you down. So off we went to the No Boundaries orientation meeting. Quite a few people crowded the small store that night as we watched a power point that included pictures from other races and got the basic information. It would cost me $75.00 to join. For this I would attend training two days a week, be assigned a coach who would contact me and stay in touch throughout the training and attend several informative meetings. All of this training would culminate in running the 5k portion of the Route 66 marathon. I wrote my check that very night, as did Mary. We were committed.

We started running a few weeks later. The first night almost killed me. We ran for one minute and walked for three, in a series of intervals until we had completed just over two miles. I was exhausted at the end and realized that I still hated running. A day or so later, I received an email from Mary. She would not be returning to the program with me. Her doctor forbade it due to a tendon injury, or something equally crippling. Great. Now I was in this alone. Still, I returned to the next training day and continued to return for a few more weeks. I quicky discovered, however, that I did not really like the group dynamic. The chatty women and setting my pace to match theirs didn't appeal to me. I was determined, however, to run that 5k. So I talked to coach Jack and arranged to do my training on my own, while keeping up with what the group was doing. I made a running playlist for my ipod and faithfully ran 3 days per week. At one point, I discovered that I was actually looking forward to going to run after work. This was very strange for me and I assumed it was a side effect of the flu that I had just gotten over.

Today, I got up at 6:00 am on a Sunday. I dressed in my No Boundaries running shirt, pinned on my number, attached the timing chip to my shoe and headed downtown before the sun came up. It was chilly and my muscles did not want to run. When the gun sounded I took off with the group, making sure to set my OWN pace, as Coach Jack had advised. He had also advised me to train on hills... I had ignored this advice. I wished I hadn't. Half the course was uphill. I had to walk on parts because my calves were burning. I made up for it though, by running harder once I leveled out. By the time I could see the finish line, I was having a hard time getting a full breath. My heart was pounding. I fell in line behind No Boundaries coach and matched my pace to hers. I set my ipod on my favorite running song and just focused on making it to the finishline. I did it! I ran 5k in about 42 minutes. Once my heart rate slowed I noticed a feeling of euphoria settling over me. So THIS was that runners high everyone talked about. I loved it! I am hooked.

Now, my legs are sore and I have a bit of a headache. I have told my 5k story to anyone who will listen - like I survived a great war or something. I also signed up for a race a few weeks from now. Of course I did... I am a runner.

-Nisi, First Time Runner