HOW I BECAME A RUNNER

So, you want to get into the sport of running? Well your in luck because there's an App for that! All you have to do is Google "start running" and you'll come up with a zillion sites to help you get started.

But that's not how I started. I didn't start with a Google search or an App. Tom and I did it caveman style. Why caveman style? Because we were dummies at the time and didn't think of researching it before we started. There were two key element that made all the difference for our success.

So here's the story: My brother got into running 7 years ago. I have no idea how or why he became a runner, but he did. Then he got my nieces into running.  Every year they would run the Tunnel to Towers race in NYC and invite Tom and I to join them.  Yeah, thanks for the invite but we still don't run.

And I really wanted to get into running, but every time I tried I would feel breathless, itchy and miserable. And that miserable feeling is when I'd throw in the towel.

On the day of the 2011 Tunnel to Towers race, while my brother and nieces ran, Tom and I went sneaker shopping. With coupon in hand, I bought the cheapest pair of running sneakers I could find at Kohls. Since I had quit so many times before, I wasn't ready to make a big financial investment in sneakers.

There were two key elements that helped us to become successful runners. Here is key element one (bare with me on this): Tom mapped out a 1/2 mile distance with his car. In retrospect, a smartphone app would have been so much easier, but we didn't think of it at the time.  Why did this make all the difference? Because every single time I tried running in the past, I had absolutely NO IDEA how far I could OR couldn't go. This truly became the first key to success.

I remember thinking "a 1/2 mile, that's it? I'm gonna get dressed to run only a 1/2 mile"? Well slap me in the face because I couldn't run a 1/2 mile, even at a slow pace.  And that disheartened me...A LOT!!! So the next day we went out and we tried our 1/2 mile again, and the result was still the same. It took one week for me to conquer a 1/2 mile, but within one week I was able to complete it without having to stop.

That small-distance goal motivated me to add a bit more distance on. Once I got used to running a 1/2 mile, I would make sure that I could maintain my 1/2 mile distance, but I would add a tiny bit more distance on, and tiny bit more, and tiny bit more.  Within a few weeks I was able to do a mile without stopping.  And while a mile doesn't sound like much, it was exactly what I needed to keep myself motivated and interested.

Key element number two to our success was: Once I was able to run a mile without stopping, I signed myself up for a 5k race. The race was 6 or 7 weeks away at that point, and all I expected of myself was to be able to run the entire race without walking. Signing up and having a committed race date meant I could be a slacker. I'm the type of person who signs up for something and commits to it. So you can't be wishy washy.
I was running 4 to 5 days a week at this point, and still adding on distance in small increments. By now, I had also downloaded an app onto my phone so that I could monitor exactly how far I was running (YOU MUST, MUST, MUST KNOW HOW FAR YOU'RE GOING).

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy but it was a method that worked for me. By doing it in small increments I had small, weekly success stories.  And having small, weekly success stories kept me motivated.  Had I set a 5k distance as my upfront goal, I probably would have quit again because that distance seemed unimaginable to me early on.

My YouTube video of our first 5k

 

 

Tom and I ran The Big Chill (without stopping) nine weeks later.  The Big Chill is a fantastic 5k, especially for first timers because it has a huge crowd and it takes place on College Avenue at Rutgers University.  To this day, it's my favorite 5k race and I'll continue running it every year for as long as I can.  Last year, I came in the third place female for my age group.

Set small distance goals for yourself and know how far your going. Yes, you can do it. You just have to believe!!!