I am a runner because I run

27/07/2010 § Leave a comment

On November 7, 2010 I will run the New York Marathon. All 26.2 miles of it. All five boroughs of it. As long as it takes. I’ve never run a marathon before, so the task seems a bit daunting. Especially since I only have 15 weeks left until the race…15 WEEKS!!

I suppose I should start this story a few months back. About a year ago I joined Team in Training for the winter season, to train for the Miami Half Marathon on January 31, 2010 . Through TNT, the largest sports training program in the world, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society trains thousands for endurance events. In exchange, team members raise money to fight blood cancers. I had a number of reasons for joining: I wanted to do something charitable, I wanted to meet new people, and I wanted to see if I could run that far. I raised money for a great cause, I met some wonderful people, and I found out I could run 13.1 miles, no sweat. (Ok, maybe a little sweat)

Training for the Miami half was difficult. I went from doing no exercise at all (except maybe running to the subway) to running multiple times per week. Training in the snow, rain and wind was tortuous. I discovered my hands were very sensitive to the cold — I had to wear a pair of gloves, with hand warmers, INSIDE a pair of mittens. I effectively lost my Friday nights, since we met for our long runs early on Saturday mornings. I learned about things like GU and Body Glide and wicking and ice baths.

It was hard, but I did it. I finished the Miami half and was presented with the opportunity to run the 2010 New York Marathon soon thereafter. I’ve decided to do a few races along the way, to keep things interesting – just training can be a little boring for me. I’ve already done the Brooklyn half and I will run the Disney Wine and Dine half in Orlando in October. I am seriously considering the Bronx half, even though it is just a few weeks away and it is ridiculously hot in New York lately.

I never really thought of myself as a runner until recently. Even though I have spent many hours over the past year running, even though I have spent way too much money on spandex and even though I have a small collection of race bibs, the thought of me as a runner didn’t really enter my mind until a few weeks ago. I was at lululemon — buying spandex shorts to run in — and the salesgirl asked me brightly, “Are you a runner?” And I thought about it. And I realized I was. Talk about a delayed epiphany, right?

Anyway, I have 15 WEEKS (!!) to go until raceday. So this is me in training. Again. I promise to update periodically on my progress and post on other topics related to my training. I would love to discuss training or running or whatnot, so do let me know what is on your mind. I might think myself a runner now, but keep in mind less than a year ago, I couldn’t keep running for more than 20 minutes…

Let’s git-r-dun!

Quite Continental