Thursday, January 25, 2007

Getting Started, Being Excited

Okay, so I finally decided to just make the time and write. Unlike Jen, I've completely abandoned the whole public posting of my thoughts over the Internet once I graduated from high school, 11 years ago. In a similar fashion to Jen's excuses, I found college an excuse to not write, then life just got in the way. You could say I let the pendulum seriously swing the other way after high school. I don't even own a computer! I'm doing this log on a computer a coworker loaned me over the holidays so I could work from home. I also have to mention that we don't have TV, so this computer is now our only form of entertainment besides a good book and the dog (whom I'm sure you'll hear more about later). There is a little more insight into just who I am, and a set-up as to how different Jen and I really are. The amazing part, when I need a friend, she is still there. (And, yes, our periods of complete disconnect have spanned more than a year at times.)

So about the running; I have continued to run nearly all these years. It has been my identity. Not because I am an outstanding runner, but because I have a serious endorphin addiction. I've noticed over the years that I exhibit all the normal withdrawal symptoms of a drug user or alcoholic when I don't get regular strenuous exercise. There have been some breaks in my running. For a while in college I played water polo, which is interesting because I'm "built like a runner" and I played on a co-ed team. Ever watched a water polo match? Good, then you know what the average player's build is. I also got lost while I was in graduate school and planning a wedding. It took LOTS of counselling and a year on Zoloft to recover from that little break in running. However, most notably I gave up running while I was living in South America in a large city that just wasn't easy to jog in (I believe drivers got points for hitting gringos). So I joined the university Tae Kwon Do club. Aerobics or basketball just weren't going to cut it for me. Anyone familiar with 1. living in a very different male-oriented society, 2. the average height of Hispanics, 3. TKD as a contact sport, and 4. learning a new language (Korean) from an already foreign and only moderately spoken second language, understands just how remarkable joining the team as a 5'8" athletically driven female with a limited sense of pain truly means. My Spanish improved as a I quickly learned to mimic body motions and the meaning of "eso." After about week 2 I was training 4 days a week with the competitive boys and learned to be more conservative when I was paired with the females for sparing or drills. I like to push myself. I like challenging sports.

So that brings me to today, sort of. I run semi-regularly. This past summer I ran several days a week at 5am and did at least two days of intervals or tempos. I joined the gym at work this fall and have been hitting the cardio machines a couple of days a week. (I've amused a few people at the gym, especially a former student of mine, with my complete lack of coordination. Did you know it doesn't work so well to actually lift your feet off the foot pads of the inclined elliptical machine?) I like to do circuits at home. I'm gaining courage to actually lift weights with an audience at the gym. My goal for the time being is to consistently get in 5 days a week of exercise, and lift (or circuit) at least once. I figure by April I really need to start focusing on running. I like to run outdoors and miss it. I'm hoping the craving will carry me through what will prove to be some very challengingly long runs. My mom, who was so not a runner as I grew up, has since become a runner and done a few marathons. She says it takes 6 months to train for your first marathon. I started looking at training schedules to get an idea of what I am in for. I'm excited, but fear the time factor. It will all depend on my job. (Sad but true.) However, once I set my mind to it, I seldom back down.

Tentatively I have a few things on the calendar. On April 1st is the Palouse 100K. The department (I work at WSU) is trying to put together a team for that. I'll run with them. Although my sister (a remarkable runner currently being recruited by colleges) and my brother (another outstanding runner) will be in town that weekend, so perhaps they'll run with me. In May is Bloomsday in Spokane, Washington. I ran it last year and got a terrible stitch with less than a mile to go. I have to go back this year and re-claim the race. I'm hoping a running partner and friend of mine from college who currently lives in Seattle and was there with me the first time I did Bloomsday and for my first 1/2 marathon, will come over to run it with me. It would be yet another reunion centered around running. Other than that, Jen and I have a not-yet-set training week this summer in Idaho. Finally, I would like to wrap up the year, post marathon, with a women's spa retreat weekend with friends and family. Even if they are not into marathons, everyone can benefit from setting fitness goals, and then sharing their stories. So that is my story, for now.