The
story of The Tortoise and the Hare is
about how the fast do not win, but slow and steady does. However in running the
fast do win, but slow and steady is how to train your body for endurance.
As
a young girl my mother wanted me to be dainty and girly, well, I was built like
my dad and I was not dainty or girly. Give me a football over a ballerina tutu
any day. But my mother still tried, she signed me up for Jazz, Tap and Ballet
classes, I have no grace or rhythm so one year was all it took for me to want
to stop. Then piano lessons; practice indoors when all the guys were out in the
backyard tackling each other. I wanted to play football not practice on that
stupid instrument. Finally my mother
gave in to my tomboyish ways and signed me up for soccer. OMG! The heavens
parted and the Angels started to sign Hallelujah. I had found my calling I
loved soccer, but, yes there is a but… I hated to run. Over time I found ways
around not having to run, being put in the stopper position, they stay at one
end of the field, also goalies didn’t run either. I made it all the way through
my childhood soccer career without doing a lot of running, at least until High
School.
High
School was another beast all together; there were several different coaches,
not just one or two. We had 5 coaches and all of them wanted to make us run, so
we would have endurance during our games. I was not happy, but I gutted it out.
A friend said, lets train, we will run every morning and build your endurance
for soccer practice and in turn the games. I agreed, but we didn’t start off
slow, no we ran 1 or 2 miles fast, I could never catch my breath, I always had
a stitch in my side and my shins were killing me. You will work through this,
you will overcome this, just give it time. I didn’t and I hated the running and
in turn I started to hate Soccer, so I quit.
Now
all these years later, I end up in a hospital with a stent in my heart, dying
of a heart attack. I have got to get out and walk. At rehab I asked a vital
question, “Do you think I need to run to get this weight off?” No I was told,
just walk and keep a heart rate of 109 to 120 beats per minute for 60 minutes a
day, sounded good to me, which lead me to walking a 5k a day. Then, Reid (my
brother-in-law) told me about Disney and the half marathon. You should know
this story if not check out this blog entry here.
As I did my research on the rules of the Disney Half Marathon, I realized I
didn’t walk fast enough to actually do the race. So I started to work on my
time, I suck at walking fast. So I started to run, my knees were holding up
well, I felt better, I could breathe, no stitches in my side and my shins
didn’t hurt. I decided to start running. But not a full distance of a 5K, I was
going to have to start over.
So
I continued to walk and run a few more days increasing my running during my
walks, to get my body ready for the full run I was planning in a few days. Now
there is a lot of information on the internet about this, I did my research on
walking and running. So please if you are planning on weight loss, new eating
habits and exercise, talk to your physician and do research so you don’t hurt
yourself.
Then
on April 4, 2011, 4 months after my heart attack, I started to run. I did a
whole .70 of a mile in 13 minutes running the entire time. Each day I added
about a tenth of a mile, some days I didn’t add any more distance, then some
days I would add more than a tenth. But I took it slow and steady; I listened
to my body as well. By the end of May I was running a mile and a half, by the
end of June I was running 2 miles. Over the course of 5 months I worked my way
back up to a 5k a day. Then in October I ran my first 5k race, now because of
adrenaline and a hilly course I walked most of the hills, I didn’t run the
entire course but I finished and that is all that matters.
Then
on October 29 a Saturday I did my first “long” run, 6.31 miles. I did it in
honor of my brand new niece Azlynne Merie who was born the Wednesday before.
Once I did that first long run I knew I could do any race. I was now doing 4 to
5 miles a day and every weekend I would add a mile to my long runs, until I increased
to 12 miles on my long runs. I did 12.24
miles on December 24, 2011 before my Disney run in January. I didn’t want to do
13.1 miles until I was in Disney I wanted my first 13 miles ever to be in the Magic Kingdom
I
didn’t win that race of course, a fast hare did, but I did finish the race and
I got a medal and the feeling of accomplishment so slow and steady got me to my
destination and I have gone beyond that. I am now working on getting the rest
of my weight off so I can train for a marathon; really I am in training now.
But I have goals in my head and I want to do them in order.
Next
how to deal with colds and sickness so stay tuned.
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