How Do You Start Running?
A few months ago I reconnected with a college classmate named Agnes via Facebook. Like many I have reconnected with lost friends and acquaintances from my high school and college through social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter. I have not seen Agnes since a month or two after our college graduation, more than a few years ago.
I’ve been posting about training runs, races and marathons and have kept a stream of dialogue going tracking the progress of my running friends. Some is new runners, starting out needing advice or encouragement — others are training for bigger and better. In one of these posts about races, Agnes asked. “How does one get started?”
A few weeks ago I spoke to Agnes and we talked for about running for about an hour. I gave her a few suggestions on how to get started, the names of a few running stores where she can get set up running shoes. I gave her some suggested reading — I recommended John Bingham’s Courage to Start, a good read for any newbie runner. I offered encouragement and asked to call me if she needed help or advice.
After our conversation, I started thinking about how I started running. Everyone one has their story, this is mine. When I was younger my friends and I played many sports, baseball, football, street hockey, soccer the sports changed with the season. We rode our bikes almost everywhere and we ran. We would race after soccer practice or run relay races in the street. When a friend got a stopwatch as a birthday present we took turns timing each other as we ran around the block.
During the running boom in the 70’s and 80’s, I remember Bill Rogers, Grete Waitz and Alberto Salazar winning the New York City Marathon on TV. I would run three or four miles sometimes alone, sometimes with friends who were training for the football or soccer teams. I remember wanting to run the New York City Marathon. Some day I thought.
Then I got older, went to college, and although I maintained an active lifestyle, I didn’t run as much. I lifted weights and discovered rollerblading and Stairmasters, elliptical machines and stationary bikes that were ironically enough were placed in an area by the window so I could see what was going on outside, while I was sweating on a machine inside.
I lived in an apartment next to a small park with three running trails literally 100 steps from my front door. In the six years I lived there I ran on those trails maybe ten times. We tend to take convenience for granted. My dream of running the New York City Marathon faded. It seemed like something on a bucket list I would never get to.
I was reintroduced to running when I met Esther. On our first date she told me she was training for the New Jersey Marathon. At that time she had run four marathons. I was amazed at the stories she told about the races she ran. We went running in Central Park after work on one of our dates. I had never run in Central Park at twilight. We went for a slow easy run — it felt great to be running on a crisp spring evening. When we were done I asked her how far we ran. “About two miles,” was her reply.
About a week later she told me I was ready to sign up for a four-mile race. I looked at her like she was nuts. I had not run over three miles in years, but she just said, “trust me you’re ready.” So we signed up for the Run as One Classic in Central Park. I was a bit anxious, but I was also curious to see if I could do it as well. When we finished the race, I realized it was the same course we ran the week before. As we headed back to the bag check area, I just looked at her and said “two miles.” She just smiled and said “If you knew it was four miles you probably wouldn’t have done it.”
I was hooked. I signed up for races with Leo, Linda, and Esther, Team Never Quit. Spring turned to summer and the three of them started training for the New York City Marathon that fall, Leo wanted to run the Hartford Marathon in October as a training run for New York. He told me I should sign up for the Hartford Marathon. I told him I didn’t think I was ready to run a full marathon, but would think about running a half marathon.
On a steamy Sunday Morning in July the four of us ran a 10-mile training run through the hilly streets of North Queens and I began to think a half marathon was possible, but I kept getting cramps in my calves after runs and spent the rest of the day limping. Magnesium supplements helped with the cramping.
New York Road Runners schedules two long training runs in Central Park. During the first long-training run in Central Park I ran 13 miles and I started thinking, I just ran a half marathon, should I try the marathon? I signed up for Hartford Marathon, a week later. I hurt both knees during training. And then two weeks before the marathon I got sick with an upper respiratory infection with a nasty cough. I went to the doctor who prescribed antibiotics. I felt awful. I didn’t run for a week before the race, I just rested.
The day before the marathon, during the drive to Hartford, I felt awful. I had heavy coughing fits, and was sprawled in the passenger seat of the car. I remember Esther telling me, “I know you really want to run tomorrow but if you are not better, there will be other marathons.” I thought about it — for a second. There was no way I wasn’t going to try.
The next morning I went out and ran my first marathon. It was an experience I’ll never forget. The cool chill of a fall morning, the sense of anticipation one gets when they are about to venture into unknown territory. There were live bands and fan support was great. Along the way, I truly understood what it meant to hit the wall. I hit it — hard. I felt the amazing sense of accomplishment one gets upon finishing a marathon. I also felt the soreness that comes after one. Both knees hurt, my feet and hamstrings were incredibly sore, and walking was difficult at first.
My time of 5:14:32 was nothing special, but that wasn’t important. I set out to achieve a goal and I accomplished it. I ran my second marathon last November and my third is on March 20th in Washington D.C. I told this story and others to Agnes when we spoke, I told her running is not about running a marathon, it’s about having the courage to start.
Let me know what you think. You can leave a comment if you want with a question or suggestion.
