I have always hated running as exercise.
In high school, our swim team had to run a lot. Some of us figured out how to get out of running the prescribed distance. We would bring a basketball along with us, pretending to bounce the ball as we ran to give us something to do. In reality, we would find a basketball hoop somewhere along the way and play ball instead of run, then hook back up with the group on their way back to the pool. I’m guessing our coach knew what was going on, but we thought we were so clever. Not surprisingly, we were all sprinters. The swimmers that figured out how to run the long distances, also knew how to swim the long distances. I never figured out how to do either one.
I have done several triathlons in recent years. These usually require swimming a decent distance. Having a background in swimming has helped me do well in the swimming portion, even though I still don’t swim distance well. I really enjoy the biking and the distance you ride in a typical Olympic-distance triathlon doesn’t seem all that long. But my “run” portion has always been terrible. In fact, I have been in the bottom-5 for my age group in the run on several occasions. That hasn’t really bothered me. In fact, I have been joking for several years that I’m going to start creating and selling T-shirts that say “Swim – Bike – Walk” on them. I haven’t ever done that, of course, but I still think it’s a fun idea.
My father had a heart attack this year, so I’ve been thinking a lot about taking better care of myself. I know that means I need to walk and probably run on a regular basis, so I started walking around the neighborhood at lunch (I work from home, so it’s easy to schedule). I found I really enjoyed the walking. It really cleared my head and helped me solve problems. It wasn’t long before I was walking 3 miles a day, 3 or 4 times a week. I didn’t have enough time to be gone more than about 45 minutes, so I just kept walking my 3 miles. But then something strange happened. My legs didn’t want to walk, they wanted to run.
I have been mixing walking and running my 3 mile loop for the past two weeks. I’m not in good enough shape to run the whole loop, but I haven’t had too much trouble running big portions of it. It wasn’t fun, but for some reason, my legs still wanted to run it, so I did. The amount of the loop I walk has been getting less and less, while the amount I run has been increasing.
Today something very strange and unexpected happened. I wasn’t planning on running any more than I had earlier this week, but after mixing running and walking the first mile, I started feeling really good. I started really enjoying running. I have never enjoyed running. It was a completely new experience for me. I ran the rest of the loop and really enjoyed it. I didn’t run fast by any means, probably somewhere between 5.5 and 6.0 miles/hr, but it was easy and enjoyable. I don’t think I’ve fully come to terms with what it means, but I’m already looking forward to my next run to see if it happens again.
