Since I’ve explained why I currently run in a previous post, I thought I would explain how I got into running in the first place.

The allure of running dawned on me when my older brothers ran track and cross country in high school. I didn’t really do sports as a child with the exception of soccer. Even then, I was usually designated to the “full back” position. I’m not totally sure why this was – maybe part of it was that I tended to be the only girl or one of a handful of girls on a male-dominated team.   My point is that I was pretty inactive by the time I became envious of my brothers and their running sports.

High school

Running was simple. Running, I could understand. You win by going fast, you lose by going too slow.  It seemed accessible.  Not only that, but I knew from perusing my dad’s copy of Aerobics Program for Total Well-Being (no, I am not making this up) that running was one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise (the best, according to the author, Dr. Cooper).

I kind of wished I could just get on the cross country team, and have the coach whip me into shape, but I was too intimidated.  Not to mention, running just a little was hard!  In high school, I began running. I could not go far. I would head out once the sun had set and it was dark out. I would run as far as I could and stop and turn around and go back home. I think the first few times I could only do 1/4 of a mile.

It was discouraging and so I didn’t keep this up for long. I would set out to take it up again at the start of fairly decent weather (spring or fall). Eventually, and I didn’t time myself or really track my distance, I got up to about a mile.

College

Then I went to college. I did a 1.5 mile loop on campus when I felt like it. Campus food was terrible which resulted in weight loss, and made the running easier.

I took a class in Zen meditation, and we got a project to take up an activity and meditate while doing it. I used running to do my meditation. When I had completed the project, I noticed my notes had more to do with my pace and time than with meditation; the project turned out to be an excuse to discipline myself into running more often.

Break up

After the break up with my first boyfriend, I used running to keep me occupied. One day I decided to double my 1.5 mile loop. I continued to work at running – but there was no method to the hobby. I just did it when I felt like it, but I also felt a desire to get better – run farther, faster, with less effort.

Law school

Running was something I did on and off for a while.  Until my heart was broken once again in law school and running became not only an outlet, but also contradictorally, an act of denial that anything was wrong.  I had never run a race but I was running 4 miles 5 times a week and decided I wanted to run a half marathon.  I knew a thing or two about running at this point, but not too much.  I picked a beginner Hal Higdon plan.

Today

I suppose from that moment on, running has become a stable part of my life.  It’s not something I dabble in anymore, but something that if I don’t do, I’ll drive myself and everyone around me nuts.  I’ve completed 4 half marathons, trained for 3 marathons and completed one.  I’ve ran a handful of 5ks and 10ks.  I’ve ran on my wedding day, in Mexico, and I even ran across state borders unintentionally.

I’ve learned about health and about injury; about dehydration and glycogen depletion; running on ice or sitting in ice; fartleks and tempos; negative splits and shin splints; and about running through pain and running with joy.

I think I like running.