Starting to Run

There was a time when my friends would complain that my blog was all about running. But lately, my running buddies would be totally justified in complaining that my blog is NEVER about running. This is because I haven’t been running or biking or swimming with any real consistency since August 2008. There were spurts in there of solid training. I did the Houston Half Marathon last January on half-hearted training and it actually turned out ok. But overall? I haven’t gotten significant exercise in any way, shape or form in the past year.
I’m ok with that. The past year has been perhaps the craziest and busiest — and also most awesome — year of my life. Accepting that I didn’t have the time or desire to work out while planning my wedding and building a house is not something I regret.

The biggest downside of all this not running, of course, is weight gain. I have a long history of being overweight. Though I’d given it a try many times before, I started running for real when I was in grad school in late 2001 and continued to lose weight slowly but surely for the next few years. I reached my lowest point ever in September 2004 and remember coming back from our trip to Peru, stepping on the scale, and seeing 169. For a lot of women, that’s still pretty heavy. It’s still well above the 150 lb minimum weight to race triathlons as an Athena. But at 169 pounds, I felt awesome. I felt healthy, looked healthy, and was generally blissful about my physical fitness and appearance.

But over the past 5 years, the weight has been creeping back, for a lot of reasons. A saying I once read has proved more or less true — that once in a relationship after being single, men tend to eat healthier and women tend to eat worse. But mainly, I just stopped being as dilligent about what and how much I ate. Today, I’ve got clothes in my closet that fit 4 years ago but don’t fit now.

But on top of the weight gain, I miss running and competing in races and triathlons! I only need one finger to count the number of triathlons I did in 2009. That’s right: ONE. I’ve done maybe 4-5 running races as well. Compare that to 2008 when I did at least 6 or 7 triathlons, and probably a dozen other running races. I love races, I love seeing my running and tri buddies, and I love the motivation they provide.

SO. With the wedding done and the house finished, it is time for action!

I’ve been “on a break” long enough that I am essentially starting at zero. That’s tough. I’m not really looking forward to building up endurance again, and I wish there were some way to warp past the next couple months and get back to the point where I can go do a tri every weekend. But I spent October slowly starting to build a base again, and throw some longer runs in on the weekends.

I missed my “long” run on Sunday since we went to the airshow, so I headed out last night for what turned out to be 6.3 miles around my neighborhood. I’m trying to ditch the run/walk pattern I adopted over this last inconsistent year, but I still need it for the long runs right now — mentally as much as physically — so last night I did a 5/1.

So training is underway for the Houston Half Marathon in January, followed by the Lonestar 70.3 in April. It’s going well so far!

p.s. Hearing about running buddies entering the lottery for next year’s New York Marathon reminded me that I’ve applied — and been denied — three years in a row. That means I’m automatically in for 2010. Interesting…

p.p.s. On Sunday, Meb Keflezighi won the New York Marathon — the first time an American has won that race since 1982. I read this morning that there is “debate” on the internet about Meb, a naturalized American citizen who immigrated at age 12, not being “American enough.” Here’s a BIG GIANT EYEROLL from me to anyone who thinks that.