Live it. Run it. A Manifesto of Sorts?

I am applying for the 261 Fearless Ambassador program.

One of the questions is this:

If you could give advice to other women who are trying to incorporate running into their life, what advice do you want to share with them? 

This question sparked some passion in me that I could barely control.  I had to edit it down to the space allotted for responses.  So I thought I'd share it.

Here is my answer:

When I started running, I did everything I could to do it in private.  I didn't want anyone to see me trying to run, trying to teach myself how to run.  I had led a very sedentary life and in my late 20s I was trying to completely change how I viewed myself, the type of activities I spent my time on, and what I wanted to do with my life outside of work.  

I was afraid other runners would ridicule me, I was afraid that drivers on the street would honk and make fun of me, yell things from their car windows and embarrass me.  I was fat and I felt old and clumsy and I was terrified of being seen in public trying to change that.  

Eventually I gained the confidence to join a group of beginner runners.  Essentially it was a Couch to 5k-type of program and it COMPLETELY CHANGED MY WORLD.  My outlook on this activity was radically changed by the time I'd finished the 10-week program.  

I learned that the running community is not a group of high school jocks who are going to make fun of me for being slower or for struggling.  It’s a group of SUPPORTERS who have my back!  

The “intimidation” and "fear" I experienced was really more about fear within myself.  Fear of failing, fear of succeeding, or maybe just fear of trying something new.  

Don’t let THAT stop you!  

NEVER LET FEAR STOP YOU FROM DOING WHAT YOU WANT!  

Go out in the street!  

Run and walk on the trails locally! 

If you really need an excuse or to take attention from yourself, 

GET A RUNNING PARTNER - GET A DOG!  ANYTHING.  

Just don't ever let fear control your actions.  

It's YOUR life.  

Live it.  

Run it.

Actually, now that I've written that last bit, I like it so much I think I'll make it my new tag line.  Because this blog isn't really about faster times and weight loss these days; it's about how I'm living my life, and the ways I'm changing how I live my life.  I like it!

Thoughts on Running Groups

I was asked this week to get in front of a group of people and talk about my experience with Ride the Wave and the Catch the Wave programs.  The event is tonight, not a big deal, just 5-10 minutes with my friend Cheryl, where we can both talk about the differences between the programs and encourage those in the "Beginner" program to take on the challenge of the "Experienced Runner" program.

I am usually loathe to speak publicly, about anything, but I'm sort of looking forward to this.  I hope I don't blow it, but I am such a big fan of both programs - I got so much out of CTW that I did it for three years! - and I took a loooong time to feel like I might be "Advanced" enough to take the next step and try out the RTW program. 

There was an intimidation factor.  I was intimidated by the idea I would be running with "Experienced" (read:  "Fast") athletes.  Also, I still didn't get it.  Unbelievable, I am just so dense sometimes!  I still didn't get it.

"Get what?", asks my faceless reader...

The Community.  I haven't written much about this, but I think about it a lot these days, and I could perhaps write endlessly on the subject.  The Running Community is a family.  It's this amazing supportive group of strangers who get together periodically to push one another, talk about things that don't matter, and sometimes find themselves talking about those things that matter most.  Now, mostly my groups have consisted of women (I'm slow, the guys are faster), so my experience is biased in that way, but here is my experience:  We do NOT talk about work.  Most of the time we don't talk about our kids, though by one definition or another, most every woman has some.  We don't much talk about our partners (spouse, husband, wife, boy/girlfriend, what-have-you). 

We DO talk about our health.  We do talk about how running and other exercise has changed us. How the health of family members has changed us in unexpected ways. Changed our outlook on life, on our problems, our perspective of things past.  How we view and define ourselves.  We confess the ways in which we have let ourselves down (in big ways sometimes, mostly in little ways).  We provide suggestions on how to counteract the bad little demons in our heads that tell us "You Can't."  We chat casually about what we think is possible for the next race, then more seriously about what's possible by the end of the season.  And then we remind each other that we are capable of ANYthing - "you don't realize it but we finished mile 6 and you didn't even notice that big hill back there!"

Which is to say nothing of the Complete Strangers on the Road.  I think that's a post for another day.

My point.  Yes, I was trying to organize my thoughts so that I won't ramble on this way at the thing tonight.  We only have 5 minutes a piece.  Right. 

So I was intimidated by the idea that RTW was for "Advanced" runners.  "Fast" runners.  "Marathon" runners.  Not one of those words describes me, not even in my head, not even today.  But I would describe myself as an "Experienced" runner.  There are folks in my Relaxed Runners group at RTW this year who prefer a run/walk interval, either because they have a minor injury or just because it's more comfortable for them. 

The program does go on longer runs than the CTW group, but pace is flexible.  I pushed myself to run farther and faster without walking as much, but I still walk occasionally.  The group leaders are just as friendly and supportive and flexible.  (Kathy even indulged me while I took pictures of my dog on our Outer Loop run a couple weeks ago!) We do some basic speed workouts and a hill workout, which were new and challenging and a LOT of fun. 

I guess what I want to convey to the CTW folks tonight is this:

1. You don't have to be ready to train for a marathon to join the Ride the Wave group.  You just have to be ready to take your training to the Next Level, whatever that level means for YOU.
2. This is not a group of high school jocks who are going to make fun of you for being slower or for struggling.  It's a group of supporters who have your back.
3. Not for nothing, but I've PR'd at every race I've participated in since joining Ride the Wave.  Last weekend I ran the 10k in Champaign SEVEN minutes faster than last April (after finishing CTW for the third time).  There is something to be said for taking my training to the Next Level.
4. If you're not sure right now about whether you're ready or not... wait!  Do some of the other programs:  TNAM and Heat Wave are both coming up, and there are others.  Get out and run, by yourself, and join up with some of the other opportunities to run with groups - there are at least three a week, and they're come-when-you-can groups, no registration or other commitments required.  Then, at the end of the season - next January - give it some thought again and make your decision then.
5. By all means, if you enjoyed CTW and don't feel comfortable yet in joining RTW, but you want a group training experience again next year, DO Catch the Wave again!  I did, and I loved it each time!

I'm so glad to be part of this community, and so glad I found my sport.  It's so much more than I ever thought it would be.

http://cpagrrrlstrongerfasterbetter.blogspot.com/#!/2012/07/tnam-2012.html

How did you learn you love running?

Lately I find myself in a constant state of amazement at what my body is capable of. 

When I first started running, after every 5k race I participated in, even if I did a significant amount of walking in order to finish, I was barely able to walk the next day, let alone go out and get some more exercise.  Now, I think of 5k's like "another training run" - one I will really push myself on.  I can even go for another 3-mile run/walk the afternoon of a race, without experiencing any muscle soreness the next day.  The day after a race, I'm ready for another run, (preferably this time with my dog).

I'm reminded of this today because my Wednesday night Ride the Wave group had our first "Hill Workout" last night.  (I did take the dog - she was ecstatic - it was her second walk of the day!)  I was expecting we would pick a big hill and then run up and down it a bunch of times, but I was mistaken.  We ran as a group, 4 1/2 miles in a figure-eight loop on the streets of a hilly neighborhood.  It wasn't as grueling as what I expected, but it was certainly a really tough workout.  We earned it last night.  (What did we earn?  Well, I guess that's up to each of us.)  And this morning, I marvel at how my legs aren't even sore. 

I was talking with someone during the run last night (and last week too, I think... hmmm, I must talk about this a lot.) about how slow my weight loss has been over the past 18 months.  Running helps me stay focused and committed despite the slow progress.  I focus on the running because that's where I can always see improvement. It's not always on the scale. It's not always on my ass or in the way my clothes fit. But it's right there on the clock.  If I work hard and stay consistent, it'll be there every damn week.

Shoot I think I just found myself a motto. Or at least an answer to that age-old question:

"Why do you run?"

Visit Life in the Day of a Runner and "Like" their page!

Getting "Real"

I spent some time today considering what is, in the world of runners, an age-old question:  Who or What is a "Real Runner"?

Where do you draw that line?  Is it based on pace - do you have to run a 7-minute pace to be considered Real?  What about 10-minute miles - is that acceptable?  What if you're only holding a 12-minute pace?  What if you walk and run and average 13:45 - what then?  Sorry, you can't be in The Real Runners Club.

Maybe we should decide based on distance.  Endurance is certainly key to being a Real Runner.  Can you run  one mile without a walk-break?  Two?  Five?  That's a lot easier to do if you run an 8-minute mile versus a 12-minute, so distance might not be the best determining factor.  Duration, then.  How much time does one have to spend running, without walking, before she can be considered Real?  Twenty minutes?  45?  What if you walk some, but only for strict, short duration?  Would walking less than 60 seconds at a time qualify, or should you keep it to 30 seconds or less?  If I'm going to do this thing, I want to Really do it.  The last thing I want is to be a poseur!

Perhaps it's better to compare ourselves to others.  Do I have to place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in my age group in a race, or must it be an outright win?  In EVERY race, or just once?  One race a year?  What if you run regularly but don't ever race?  Do you just have to speed up & pass everyone you see out on the trail each week?  (Then I'd be winning, right?)  If I hate the treadmill and therefore drop out of my training for three or four months a year when it's cold out, do I lose my standing and have to start over each March after the ice thaws?  People run faster on roads than on trails, how shall we judge them?

If I sound sarcastic and dismissive, it's because I am.  There are runners out there in the Running Community (mainly the blogosphere from what I can tell) who are presumptuous and pretentious enough to say things like "You're not a Real Runner unless you're averaging better than an X-minute pace."  More importantly, I hear people saying, "yes, I run... well, I'm not a Real Runner - [now fill in the blank with your hedge of choice:]  I do a lot of walking/ I'm slow, really I don't like to use the word 'run' I'm really more of a jogger/ I always come in last - but I really enjoy it."  I hear it from people, especially at my running group (particularly in March when the "newbie" group starts up!), and especially from women.  I think women are more susceptible to this... perhaps we are more likely to denigrate ourselves, place others above ourselves on some imaginary pyramid of validity.

I object to the whole line of thought because I dispute the premise.  The premise that there is some definitive line we must cross in order to be Real.  I am offended by my own hesitancy to accept that over the past few years there has developed a new aspect to my personality, my definition of Who I Am or What I'm About:  I am a Runner.  It was new and different and rather difficult to get my head around at first but there it is.  And I made it ever more difficult by having to work around this invisible line of being Real.

I thought that a Real Runner was long and lean and fast and as a woman, of course they weigh about 60 pounds less than I do.  The picture in my mind looked a lot like this:

But Real Runners come in all shapes and sizes.  The folks in my running group are a great example - there are some who are built JUST LIKE the woman in the photo above, but others look a LOT more like I did in this photo.  (In the running for Worst Photo Ever Taken of Me.)

Yup, this is me in 2010.

The group is full of all sorts of body types:  big guys, women with big ole' butts, heavy people working hard to get healthier.  And many of them have run multiple marathons.  Some were athletes in high school and college, exercised their whole lives, always loved running and doing exercise of all kinds.  Others (more like myself) taught themselves to enjoy exercise and being out of doors later in life, or just got started last year with their first Couch to 5K program.  And in my book, they are as Real as it gets.

I think about this a LOT.  I think about it frequently while I'm running, while I'm racing.  When I see someone running who is overweight, over thirty, or who is slower (I place myself solidly in all three of those categories), I wonder - does s(he) question whether s(he) is a Real Runner?  Do they know that I know how hard it is to do what they are doing, and how much respect other runners have for them?  If they are part of the running community here, then they know.  The community here is incredibly supportive and communicative.  If they're not part of that group, I hope they have a family who is giving and supportive and respects the time and effort they're putting in.  I hope their family makes them feel like a Real Runner.

When did i become a Real Runner in my own mind?  I'm not entirely sure, but here's one thing I repeat like a mantra when I'm out on the road (something I saw on a Facebook post and have no idea where it came from, so I apologize:  I can't provide a source)

You are what you repeatedly DO.

I don't know when it happened, but the moment I became a Real Runner is the moment when it stopped being something I was TRYING to do and became simply "something I DO."

But this Christmas .. well, now it's official.  I didn't realize it wasn't quite official until this morning when I opened my presents, and each branch of the family gave me something to support my habit!  A training calendar, a hydration belt, a hook to connect the dog leash to my belt so I can keep my hands free, a reflective vest for night runs.  My family is so incredible and supportive, and it turns out, they think I'm a Real Runner too.

Thank you, everyone, for your support.  And Merry Christmas!

By the way, there are a lot of great posts on this subject.  I've read many over the past few years, which is partly how I've clarified my own views on the topic.  Here are a few I've read recently:
http://random.andrewwarner.com/im-not-a-real-runner/
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/What_makes_someone_a__real__runner_
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=5067878
http://www.runningalife.com/who-is-a-real-runner/
And this one has some great tips, ostensibly for "beginners" but great to remember even if you're already a Real Runner...http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2012/01/a-runner-im-not-a-real-one-but-i-pretend.html

And a quote on the topic:

“ I often hear people say,’I’m not a real runner.’ we are all runners, some just run faster than others, that’s all. I have never met a fake runner.

— Bart Yasso (@bartyasso), joined Runner’s World in 1987 to develop the groundbreaking Runner’s World Race Sponsorship Program, creating a vehicle for Runner’s World to work with over 7,000 races representing 4 million runners per year. Inducted into the Running USA Hall of Champions. (via http://lifeofacollegeathlete.tumblr.com)