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i am not a runner
Aug. 27th, 2011 02:07 pmBy nature, my family is a little on the round side. My dad was in good enough shape for his stint in the Air Force, but once he left and I came along, he got a little squishy. I guess it was a little before my brother was born that my grandfather had his quadruple bypass surgery. My dad took his own father's brush with mortality as motivation to get in shape. He didn't want that to be him. So he started running. Over 30 years later, he has yet to stop. He started running marathons in the fall of 1982 and has run at least one, often two or three, every year since. He's about -12% body fat and 20% gristle. If you're stuck on a desert island with him, he will not make good eatin'.
And he's kind of my role model.
My own reasons for getting into shape are far more shallow. Of course I want to be healthy and I want to have the energy to be a good parent and teacher and I want to live long enough to know our grandchildren. But honestly? I want my old clothes to fit (they do). I want to feel attractive (comes and goes). I want my husband to be sitting in a rocking chair when he's 85 and telling everyone what a babe his wife was (he's not a bragger and we're a long way from 85, but I'm working on the "babe" part).
The main reason I run is that my time is limited. I've been wondering lately what my exercise would look like if I had all the time I wanted, as I did last time I lost weight--then, I was at the gym for over an hour every day. Now I have from whenever I drag my ass out of bed until 7:05-at-the-latest. Running can start the second I walk outside the door, no need for keys or drive time or gas stops. When the weather gets worse and the mornings are darker, I'll have to get back to the gym more often. Lately I'm running outside 4 mornings per week, hitting the treadmill at the gym 2 mornings, and having to convince myself to relax on Sundays.
But I'm also finding a greater appreciation for our neighborhood at 6:00 am. For all its issues at midnight and at noon, the dawn is kind to South Beacon Hill. I'm seeing more sunrises. I'm breathing in cool air. I'm meeting neighbors, if just to say hi. There's a group of middle-aged Black guys and an older Vietnamese man who shoot hoops at the park a few mornings a week. The raccoons along the Chief Sealth Trail are the size of Great Danes. The wildflowers are almost romantic.
I'm nowhere near running a marathon. This morning I did 2.5 miles in 28 minutes, which works out to 5.3 miles per hour. I never run for more than 1/4 mile or so without walking a bit, though I'm trying to stretch that (turns out, warming up helps--who knew?). But I could see trying for a 5K sometime soon, maybe a 10K next summer. I'm starting to wonder how far I could go. For years I assumed I couldn't run because of my lupus; I feel the arthritis worst in my hands, feet and knees. But as long as I take a day or two off every week, well, so far so good and I want to do more. A half-marathon isn't out of the question, but it'll be years before I can take as much time to myself as preparing for that would require.
In the meantime, I'm still wearing the same shoes I had in 2003. It's true they had a few years off, but given how hard I've been working and how consistent I've become? I just may deserve another pair soon.
And he's kind of my role model.
My own reasons for getting into shape are far more shallow. Of course I want to be healthy and I want to have the energy to be a good parent and teacher and I want to live long enough to know our grandchildren. But honestly? I want my old clothes to fit (they do). I want to feel attractive (comes and goes). I want my husband to be sitting in a rocking chair when he's 85 and telling everyone what a babe his wife was (he's not a bragger and we're a long way from 85, but I'm working on the "babe" part).
The main reason I run is that my time is limited. I've been wondering lately what my exercise would look like if I had all the time I wanted, as I did last time I lost weight--then, I was at the gym for over an hour every day. Now I have from whenever I drag my ass out of bed until 7:05-at-the-latest. Running can start the second I walk outside the door, no need for keys or drive time or gas stops. When the weather gets worse and the mornings are darker, I'll have to get back to the gym more often. Lately I'm running outside 4 mornings per week, hitting the treadmill at the gym 2 mornings, and having to convince myself to relax on Sundays.
But I'm also finding a greater appreciation for our neighborhood at 6:00 am. For all its issues at midnight and at noon, the dawn is kind to South Beacon Hill. I'm seeing more sunrises. I'm breathing in cool air. I'm meeting neighbors, if just to say hi. There's a group of middle-aged Black guys and an older Vietnamese man who shoot hoops at the park a few mornings a week. The raccoons along the Chief Sealth Trail are the size of Great Danes. The wildflowers are almost romantic.
I'm nowhere near running a marathon. This morning I did 2.5 miles in 28 minutes, which works out to 5.3 miles per hour. I never run for more than 1/4 mile or so without walking a bit, though I'm trying to stretch that (turns out, warming up helps--who knew?). But I could see trying for a 5K sometime soon, maybe a 10K next summer. I'm starting to wonder how far I could go. For years I assumed I couldn't run because of my lupus; I feel the arthritis worst in my hands, feet and knees. But as long as I take a day or two off every week, well, so far so good and I want to do more. A half-marathon isn't out of the question, but it'll be years before I can take as much time to myself as preparing for that would require.
In the meantime, I'm still wearing the same shoes I had in 2003. It's true they had a few years off, but given how hard I've been working and how consistent I've become? I just may deserve another pair soon.
