I began to notice quickly with Jes as my coach, that “burning out” every day with my training, would get me nowhere fast. These were running workouts, to get better at running- not graduate basic training for the army. I refocused.
I also began to realize there were more paces besides “fast” or “sort of fast”, AKA (5K and 10K pace respectively). However, I got some new shoes, the Tempo NEXT%. Carbon fiber plate, huh?
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To set goals you need a plan, and you can’t plan without knowing where things stand. My new coach needed to know a little more about my “current fitness level”, which means a test was looming. Hello performance anxiety.
I didn’t only love my Apple Watch, I was in love with it. It had given me so much life, and changed the way I lived- introduced me to the NRC, which set this path in motion.
However, there was one big problem- intervals and data. After meeting my 5K goal, I started doing some thinking. My first run was 6.18.20, so I was approaching half a year of running, and now had my eyes set on the marathon. Even being a running novice I knew 26.2 miles was no simple feat (4.36 times the length of my long runs, erm 20 miles)...
I kept chiseling down my 5K times while marathon training, until the minute changes turned into seconds. Once a week for the RnR races, I would try to get better.
Sure, I could’ve just ran 5K’s and reserved all of my energy for the race at the end of the week or at least taper, but I viewed the RnR races as a bonus at this point. Inasmuch as it was not part of, and did not fit into the NRC marathon training plan. Fridays were prescribed as NTC workouts, and Saturdays long runs. I did the NTC workout, plus the 5K VR race and for a time my long runs were around 6 miles so I did the 10K races on Saturdays. But- I just could not seem to get my 5K time under 20 minutes. I officially began marathon training with the NRC, and was proud to say it. I liked the idea of it being a long and gradual progression, and with the BCx69 challenge coming to a close I needed a reason to continue training at that intensity.
By this time I was training around two hours a day. Besides running, I did a lot of push-ups, jumping jacks, burpees, ellipticals and yoga, those were my daily exercises. I also did whatever NTC workout was recommended for the week, but that was reserved for Friday’s. There was a small group of us accountants who liked to run. One of the others had found some live races available. Live races were a rarity with COVID, a delicacy of sorts.
The thought of an in person race was exciting but it gave me anxiety. I had talked a big game at a distance, but no one had ever seen me run, besides the people at the park. What was it like to line up around a bunch of people, and race? Could I keep my poise? Would I be able to cope with REAL competition? In Florida, it rains a lot. All of my running this far was out in the back field, where the ground would get saturated with water. My beloved Infinity Runs were beginning to stink something awful.
I tried baking soda, newspapers, more baking soda with some success. But I was also tired of soaked feet running, it made me more prone to blisters, and it was uncomfortable. Back in my drinking days I joined a club started by members of cool band, called the BadChristian club (BC). I embarrassed myself in this club a lot. Likely still hold the record for the most amount of drunken and subsequently forgotten posts.
I’d wake up in the morning terrified to look at my phone and see what I’d posted in there. This went on for awhile, until I eventually hid away in shame. I was too bad, for even the “bad” Christian club, at least I was ashamed. After I sobered up, a friend of mine from the BC Club noticed I was running. He was a long time runner, and had also always been very kind to me. Anyway, he mentioned the BCx69 Challenge, and softly suggested I join in. Then a couple other members mentioned it to me, maybe I wasn’t too bad for BadChristian after all. I came across this term I heard runners use “PR”, which stands for “Personal Record”. Personal. Now that’s cool. It’s my record, no one else’s.
This fit perfectly with my “Progress Not Perfection” mantra. That’s what I needed to do for the Lokai Run for Hope- PR. God please let me PR for this race. Maybe even someone special would notice me. I know overly self-conscious, but insecure I was. I finally figured out what a 5K was with the help of some coworkers. 3.11 miles, I can barely run 2. People “race” this distance. I’ll be happy just to finish one.
August 8th rolls around, and I did it. 3.11 miles. I can say that I ran a 5K! Can you tell I was also proud of my shoes? (Nike React) I didn’t know what a 5K was but certainly this was it. Nike wouldn’t allow that background if it hadn’t ran one.... right? Sure five kilometers equals a mile! (I know now it doesn’t)
At one point, the ground had been disked out back by the tractor, after it had rained. “Made running more difficult”. I kept running nonetheless, and eventually rolled my ankle for the first time. Fortunately, it only hurt for the rest of the day. But I kept running one mile at a time, day after day. The mile became my standard for everything. One day it actually started raining while I was running, but I was determined to get my mile in. My second run, 1.62 miles in 18:31. That’s an average pace of 11’24” woah! I ran farther and faster, after one day? I jotted down “a little bit easier today. Stretching helps, and every minute counts”.
I began to notice changes quickly in all the numbers I didn’t understand. I didn’t know what they meant relative to other runners, but for me this was progress. Heck, any movement was progress. I hadn’t even considered physical exercise for around 13 years. “I really needed to slow my pace”. That’s all I entered in my notes for this run, but the memory is vivid. It was insanely hot, and a minute into it I was questioning myself. But this guy Coach Bennett was going to be with me for 20 minutes.
He must be kidding. This can’t be the first run. I checked my phone, and sure enough this was the “first run”. I didn’t know how I was going to keep from walking, but somehow I did. |
AuthorA human being learning to run and breathe, again. Read more about me here. Archives
March 2023
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