One Amazing Year Later

I didn't get to run tonight. I was at a blood donor clinic, and they strongly recommend not doing anything strenuous for at least six hours afterward.

But I still felt I should write something up for today, though. On April 5, 2004, I put on the old New Balance runners I had bought several years before, went to Fish Creek Park, and ran for the first time. I started with a ten minute interval, running one minute, and walking nine, using an old stopwatch for timing. Looking at how far I got, I think I managed just over two kilometres.

And it hurt. My calves complained mightily for the first month and a half or so. I'd stretch them out as much as I could, but still it would be a challenge to stop at a light on the drive home, having to stand on a clutch or brake pedal. My legs had absolutely no strength or stamina.

Carting around two hundred pounds probably didn't help much either. And I didn't know about recovery times, so I was out every day. Mostly I went daily, because I feared losing my motivation. I felt that if I took a day off, I might never restart. So I was out daily for the first few months.

After a month, I went to the Running Room to get a new pair of shoes, reasoning that the old ones were the cause of my calf pain. They evaluated my walk, and recommended Nike's New Perseus shoes, which I bought, and started using the very next day. It took several more weeks for the calf pain to go away, and for a while it was very discouraging to discover that it wasn't due to the shoes after all.

By the end of the second month, the legs hurt a lot less. A couple of more months, and I was running eight minutes and walking two in a ten minute interval, and running almost six kilometres. And I started to notice my clothes were becoming looser, more roomy. I had bought a belt with plenty of room for expansion, thinking the trend was going that way. Instead I found I was cinching it down to the last hole, and still not feeling confident it would do it's job.

Now, here I am 12 months later. I'm not sure what my weight is exactly, but it for sure is no more than 165 pounds. I'm eating better and smarter. I look better. I feel better. I have stamina for doing things that I could never do before, especially physical activities. I really need to get new clothes because almost nothing I have fits any more. Last Saturday, I ran twenty two kilometres, and I'm going to run farther next Saturday, and even farther that Saturday after that.

I've run in races with a thousand other runners, and I've held my own. I have more races coming up, including the Banff to Calgary relay, and the Burnco Marathon coming up during Stampede. I'm even mentoring a friend who has decided to try running as a way to expand her exploration of personal fitness, something I'm very proud and honoured to be doing.

It really has been an amazing year. Here's hoping then next one is just as amazing.