"I still don't know what I was waiting for
And my time was running wild
A million dead-end streets
And every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet "
David Bowie (January 8, 1947-January 10, 2016)
Week 2
It seems that somehow in life everything points to time: how much time we have here on earth, how long we have to do what we want, need and desire, what time should we do it and at what time do we step up and make a change. All we have is time: time to waste, time to discover or time to make peace. It is what we do with this time that makes us who we are.
In running, time is also very important. What is your race time? What time is your personal best? What time is your personal worst? What is your best pace? What pace should you be trying to achieve? Should you be going fast or slow? How SLOW is slow on your long runs? How fast should you be going on your tempo runs? The right answers to all of these running questions lead to the biggest question; how do I get a better race time?
When I was in Grade 7 and trying out for the track team, I really wanted to run sprints. Mr. Stevens, our school principal, told me I should run distance, that my strength wasn't in running fast for a short distance, but in running farther at a slower pace. I completely rejected this opinion at the time, and did very poorly at the track meet. I never tried out for the track team again. Nor did I do any running of any kind until I was 31 years old when a colleague and friend, Debbie Rampersad convinced me to do the Sun Run training.
I spent most of my teens and all of my twenties doing very little exercise. I spent a lot of time partying. To say that I was out of shape would be an understatement. I couldn't run for 1 minute, let alone for 10 km.
The beauty of the Sun Run Training Programme is that it designed for people (like me) who are completely out of shape. I started at running 30 seconds and walking 4 and 1/2 minutes. Then slowly, week by week the time running increased, and the time walking decreased. At first, it was painful. There were many times in the first month that I can honestly say, I hated it. But then I started to love it. I loved getting out in the fresh air, I loved meeting up with a group once a week. I loved running around Vancouver streets and looking at neighbourhoods and areas I would never had ventured down had I not been running, but most of all I loved how I felt when I was done. And I don't mean that in the way that the running was so bad that when it was finished it made me happy, but I legitimately felt good. If I was mad before I went running, I was happy when I finished. When I finished a hard run, I felt like I accomplished something. I found that if I missed a run, I became irritable and unhappy. And when I crossed the finish line on race day, I was, for perhaps the first time in my life, proud of myself. I think it was the first time I had actually had to work hard for something. I had done almost zero physical activity in my 20's and I had managed to run 10 kilometers. Time had changed me, but a part of me, deep down, felt that I hadn't changed, but I had become what that Grade 7 girl should have become; a long distance runner. It was there inside of me, I just didn't know how to access it. Time had allowed me to explore something inside me that lay dormant. I have been running ever since.
After working so hard to complete a 10km, I can honestly say, I would never have thought that 12 years later I would be training for a Marathon. I actually thought that marathon running was for crazy people. At that point I knew how hard it was to run 10km, running a marathon seemed as likely as becoming a noble prize winner,yet here I am, training for a marathon.
How I spent my time training this week:
I am still trying to figure out how to train for a half marathon on February 14, while at the same time do the full marathon training. This week I stuck with my marathon group, but next week I am going to have to put in some more kilometers for the half I will be completing in February.
This week:
Sunday LSD: 13.46 km very slowly. It was super icy. Ice skates would have been more useful for this run. Eventually we gave up on the sidewalks, altered our route and went in the trails. It was much better!
Tuesday Tempo: 6.35km 5.55 min/km in the POURING RAIN. I was soaked but it was good. I really don't mind running short runs like this in the rain. I actually have some of my best runs in the rain.
Wednesday Tempo 10.24km 6.10min/km. This was a tough run. I was tired, and needed food. Wednesday night runs happen at 6 pm and I can never figure out what to eat and when.
Friday Steady: 7km.. not sure of pace, battery in watch died AND my phone refused to pick up GPS. It was quite tragic. This bothered me the entire run. If a run is not recorded by an electronic device, it is like it didn't happen. I was gone around 45 minutes....sooooo whats the math on that? 6.26 min/km?
Weekly total: 37km
This week I am going to close with more words from the late, creative genius, David Bowie;
"Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace
I'm going through"
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