Unexpectedly becoming “a runner”
Running is solitary AND about community
Just me and Couch to 5K
I started running because I was diagnosed with high blood sugar and wanted to lose weight. Running burned the most calories in the shortest amount of time. So I downloaded the Couch to 5K app and started on my journey.
And for a couple of years this was a solitary pursuit. From my early days of run/walk segments to the point I could run a 5K without stopping, I ran by myself. I needed music to keep me moving and to put off boredom. I listened to books but found that hard to focus on. I used coaching apps and found those useful at times. But mostly I just listened to music and ran by myself.
But it wasn’t really until I joined a run club that I became a “runner.”
The Power of Groups
In 2019 we moved to a new community about forty minutes a way. We live in the township not in the village, so I would drive into town and run on the great bike path that runs for miles between various communities.
I was basically just running three miles three or four times a week or every other day. But I stumbled upon a run club on Facebook that met every Wednesday for a group run. Intrigued, I joined the page. I was just a lurker until I saw the photo from their Halloween run. This just looked like a fun group of people.
Three years later, and they were, and are, a fun group of people. But it took me a while to adjust and find my groove. For a couple of years I had been consistently running around 4pm. I would finish work, get a run in, and be ready to have dinner with the family.
Run club meets at 6:30pm on Wednesday so I had to run in evening. I don’t like to run after eating so I had to push back dinner. Plus, I was slow (a relative and potentially controversial term, I know). I was frequently at the back of the pack. I think the first couple runs I even walked a bit.
But the great thing about a group like this is that everyone was so supportive and encouraging. It helped a lot to know that everyone struggles with bad days and finding motivation, etc. I shared that it seemed like immediately whenever I started running my body and mind wanted to quit or felt out of sorts. And people who had run multiple marathons and at a pace I could hardly wrap my mind around said, “Yup, happens all the time.”
I had just assumed that once you got “in shape” you could run and feel great. What I learned was that consistency was the key. Get out and run. Sometimes it will feel amazing and other times terrible, and everything in between, but just get out and run.
Unexpectedly becoming “a runner”
Spending time with other runners led to me thinking about running and doing more of it. Soon I was pushing the miles up. From 3 miles to 5 and then trading “Couch to 5K” for “5K to 10K” and then a half marathon. Each time I stretched my goals the group congratulated me and encouraged me to keep going.
The club has an informal half marathon each April and when I ran/walked it with another member, the club made a big deal out of it. I was playing it down and saying I didn’t really run a half marathon because I walked. They didn’t agree. You finished the 13.1 miles so you did the half marathon. I have a t-shirt to prove it.
My goals changed. I went from running a 5K under 30 minutes to a 10K under an hour to eventually finishing a half marathon under 2 hours. I was putting in the miles and the time and at some point realized I was a “runner.”
Running was an important part of my life. If I had to miss a day, it felt weird. Anytime the weather was nice, I thought about going for a run. I was learning about what clothes and shoes to wear, about hydration and fueling, and pace, etc. I talk, probably too much, about all of these things. I was a runner.
Running Nerd
I am now a full fledged nerd. I get emails from the local running stores, race events, and run clubs. I organized an annual donut run for the run club and run with run clubs around our region. I have way too many race t-shirts (last year I ran at least a 5K in every month). And at the end of last year I committed to running my first marathon in April.
This weekend was a perfect example of this nerdiness. One of my favorite race series has a great deal where if you sign up for two races you get a pair of shoes, a hat, plus t-shirts and medals for the price of what many charge just for a standard race.
The sponsor shoe company is ASICS, one of my favorite brands, and shoe pick up was on Saturday. And they are running a contest to potentially win a free shoe fitting and a pair of Asics. My training plan called for a long run of twelve miles on Saturday and then I was going to drive the 40 minutes to pick up the shoes.
The store was packed when I arrived so I took my number and waited. As I was waiting I laughed to myself about the transformation described above. Here I was driving 40 minutes one way, and waiting in line, to pick up shoes that I didn’t strictly “need.”
And when I came home I posted a photo to social media in hopes of winning yet another pair of shoes. I noted that I had run my long run in ASICS GlideRide Max and had picked up my ASICS Cumulous 26s. I wore my ASICS hat and t-shirt and posed by my race medals. Yup, nerd.
And last night I ran with yet another run club in a completely different town just so I could demo shoes that I don’t need and probably wont buy. But hey, free beer!
Running is solitary AND about community
I didn’t know anyone at this run club except the shoe rep. But we were all runners and they welcomed me and we talked about shoes and running and beer. I ran the first two miles with someone from the group who knew the route and the second two miles on my own.
And running is like that. For countless hours and miles I have ran by myself. And often this is a sort of therapy. Just being alone with your thoughts, working through issues or just not having to think or solve problems. Just running and feeling alive and blessed to be able to do it.
But there is also the joy and support that comes from community. The camaraderie of a shared interest. The ability to geek out about shoes or races that would bore non-runners. The support you feel when you struggle and the energy you get from celebrating success with those who have been there. The crucial knowledge and help you get from others who have been where you are.
I would not be where I am as a runner without run club. I would never have imagined that I would sign up for a marathon. That I would run a the pace and distance I can today. That I would make so many friends from this aspect of my life. You take that strength from the group and bring it to your solo runs. And that is cool.
What about the reading?
I have neglected the Reading part of Running and Reading and I know I teased that last email. This is already pretty long so I am going to focus just on what I have been reading in an email this week.
Happy Running!