For my birthday this past January (you should jot that down), my wonderful friends all pitched in and got me a gift certificate to the Runner's Edge, a running club here in town. It had all started when a friend joined and I said how much I would like to do it but couldn't afford the registration and new shoes! Then a second friend joined, I repeated my desire to join along with my prepared excuse as to why I couldn't. Then a third friend joined and once again I whined about how much I wanted to join but alas my funds were limited. My friends being the most wonderful, caring and generous people on the face of the planet all got together to cover a large portion of the cost so that I could start the beginners clinic with them on April 5th, 2011.I was so happy and terrified. On one hand I had always wanted to try running and seeing all three of them join and excel (none had any prior running experience) I was more than a little keen to see if I could do it too. On the other hand it meant running, and possibly falling, in front of a coed group of complete strangers.
With the overwhelming support of my compadres I mustered up the courage to try it. I think I was hooked right away! The feeling of doing something you never thought you could possibly do, and pushing yourself just a little past your comfort zone and surviving.... it was amazing!
So for the past two weeks I have been going there every Tues. Thurs and Sat. to run with a group of around 50 beginners. Everyone there is so supportive and kind. No one judges you or makes snide comments about your outfit or how big your butt looks in yoga pants (thank goodness!)
They start you off slow, run for a minute, walk a minute, run two, walk one, etc and slowly build you up to where you're able to run a full 5k and approximately 35-40 mins. Day one wasn't bad but I was still very proud to be able to run the full set (10 minutes total broken up into intervals with 1 minute walks in between each set). Today is day 7 and I was able to run a full 14 minutes straight without stopping. I'm completely amazed!!
I looked a little bit like Homer after the marathon but it was worth it! If you have any interest in running at all but have little, or no, experience I highly recommend finding a running club in your area and joining. Alternatively, you could use the Couch to 5k program on your iPhone or Android Phone however, the support you get at a running club is well worth the little bit of money to join. Oh, and buy new shoes... get fitted properly at an athletic store and spend a bit of change on a decent pair of runners that will support your feet. Your tootsies, and legs, and hips and back with all thank you!!
