A year later, I started running. I had just begun this journey and was dedicated to my walking program but sometimes I needed to walk farther than I had time for so, I ran a bit of it to speed it up a little. My 15 year old border collie was up for it but my heart and lungs sure weren't. I could manage about 1/3 km before taking a km long break - maybe running 1 km in total over the 4 km distance. Those were heady times - even in the inevitable post-run asthmatic haze that sent me wheezing to the couch, I relished the memory of running those wee distances; I felt, for a brief flash of time, like a kid again.
But I wasn't a kid. I was an obese 46 year old with severe asthma, abused knees and a bum hip - I wondered if running "for real" was even possible. My misplaced pride kept me from seeking professional help at the Running Room so I just kept adding a little more until running a full km wasn't the end of the world. I told my doctor I was "running" - she had the grace not to ask too many probing questions but added another inhaler and suggested massage therapy and both helped.
Once I moved to Ontario where my asthma was more controlled, I even started running in the daylight. To this point, a year into my metamorphosis to "runner", I had only run in the dark. Embarrassed by my technique? Worried about fat rolls spilling over spandex pants? Not wishing to startle the neighbours? I'm not sure of my reasoning - I just know that I ran spring and fall and only after dark that first year and it took monumental courage to venture out during the daylight hours!
It took more than 3 years of running spring and fall to run a consistent 4 kms. But I was running! I started reading more about it and took the suggestions for pre and post run nutrition and exercise to heart. I lost more weight and running became easier. I started some new medications and got my asthma under control. I over did it while trying to increase my distance and suffered my first ever athletic injury - and worked through that and ran some more. This year, I ran through the winter for the first time ever and plan to tackle summer's humid swelter box by getting up at 5 am. And, recently, after all of this forward motion, I signed up for a half marathon - the Toronto Waterfront - Sept 27th.
This morning, I ran an easy 12km in an hour. While on vacation last week, I logged more than 30 km - DH riding with me on his bike to keep me from getting lost (and to take completely unnecessary "action shots" like the one at the right!).
It isn't always easy to lace up the shoes and get out the door. But like every part of this journey, I've added it so slowly that, without even noticing it, running is simply a part of my life. I continue to feel like a kid when I run. I also feel like I'm an athlete - ME, an athlete!
And I feel like revisiting my skeptical self from 5 years ago to let that sad, yearning woman know that it IS possible to set a crazy goal like running a half marathon at any age and meet it - no matter how long it takes to do so.
