One of the new things that I decided to take up recently was running. Now, for anyone who knows me this announcement should (and in fact did) cause some amount of skepticism. Dan? Run? Tall guy? Beard? Lazy? Run? Yeah, something just like that. Although I may not seem like it, I do value my health and I often worry that I spend too much time inside and don’t get nearly enough exercise. I’ll be the first one to make fun of some of those gym memberships though. I’m cheap as well as lazy and I don’t see the point of paying exorbitant amounts of money to not go to the gym. The gym being out I decided that running might be a cost effective and simple way to get some much needed exercise. It’s also only a step up from walking, and I’ll walk pretty much anywhere. Additionally, if the zombie apocalypse hits, I’m going to need some cardio.
At first I had trouble getting up the gumption to get started. My girlfriend had been out jogging for a few weeks previous and I think it was her encouragement that finally got me off my ass. She talked about how good it made her feel and how pretty the path she jogged along was. It took some convincing but finally I went out and got some running shoes. I don’t think I’ve had runners since I was a little kid. I decided to go with a relatively inexpensive pair because A) I’m cheap (we covered this in paragraph one) and B) if running didn’t take, then I wouldn’t have wasted a significant investment. Incidentally the girlfriend has the opposite philosophy. She bought expensive shoes so that she would remember the investment and it would encourage her to continue. All factors considered, I did make sure to get shoes that were both supportive and comfortable.
I learned two very important lessons on my very first run. Firstly, the path we run along is indeed quite beautiful. Especially considering that it runs along a drainage ditch (which we prefer to refer to as a scenic canal) and behind a couple of rundown plazas. Trees and lilacs line the path and all in all it makes for a quiet relaxing run. The second thing that I learned is that I am horribly out of shape. I mean, I knew I was out of shape, but I wasn’t quite aware to what extent. I walked at least half of the route, and spent the whole run huffing and puffing like Mike Mulligans old steam shovel. I never thought I would make it home, and more than once I wondered what could have possessed me to partake in something so clearly beyond me. When I finally made it home and collapsed on the front lawn I realized that I had not felt so good when in a good long time. Sure I felt the an old worn out sack of second rate spoons, but it felt good. I’m not sure if it was all the brain chemicals I’ve heard that you get from exercise, or just sheer relief that it was over, but I was left feeling glad that I had gone.
I went out running a few more times that week and each time it seemed to get a little bit and each time I got a little bit farther before I had to stop and walk for the first time. At first we had to push each other to get up and go out, especially if the weather were poor or it had been a long day, but eventually the feeling of progress became to be the real motivator. As I started the run I would picture in my mind where I wanted to make it before I slowed down. I would relax my mind and focus on breathing knowing that I was slowly improving. I remembered being afraid to start running because I didn’t know if I would be able to do it, or keep doing it. Each time I ran my confidence increased and kept on increasing right up until I hurt my foot.
I was very careful to make sure that I spend a good ten or fifteen minutes stretching before I ran, and although I was excited at the progress I was seeing I tried to make sure that I didn’t push myself to far. The day I hurt my self I was running very well and I had driven myself to go beyond the slowing point I was aiming for and as I came down a hill and over a small foot bridge I had to dodge some kids hanging around on the bridge and I landed on my foot wrong. It didn’t hurt much at the time, but it didn’t feel exactly right either and like a fool I pushed myself another few hundred meters before resting. By the time I got home I knew i had hurt it, and by the next day it had swollen up and I couldn’t walk properly at all, let alone run. I took good care of it and gradually it has started to feel much better, and while I have been on some walks since then, my confidence for running has somewhat abated.
One of the dangers that you can encounter when trying something new is going too far too fast. Pushing myself before I was ready and not talking my time to work my body into shape properly caused me to injure myself. I found the sense of progress and thrill I got from running to be powerful, and I just wanted to be better and faster, so much so that I forgot that I was a mere novice. While I haven’t run since I hurt my foot I’m not going to let that stop me from doing something that I’ve discovered I enjoy. When I feel that my foot can take it, I will start again slower and this time I will take the lessons I learned from my previous experience and move at a slower pace. There is no way in hell I’m letting myself get taken down by zombies because I can’t adequately place one foot in front of another in an efficient and timely fashion.
D.
