Do you remember your first step running? Was it chasing someone, or you tripped downhill and couldn't stop. Do we really remember that first step! Maybe it was on a treadmill. Maybe it was around the block, lungs burning after three minutes, wondering how the hell people made this look easy. Coaching for 20 years, there are so many stories of where people started or restarted running after their junior years.
No matter where you started, something deeper said: keep going.
Somewhere in that first run, something cracked open. Was it your endorphins, your mood felt awesome, or the post run dopamine? Whatever it was, it started something.
I love that first year. For some it’s raw, emotional, challenging, clumsy, and wildly inconsistent. For others, it's a new sense of a challenge, commitment, dedication or the start of an addiction. Whatever it was, you are here, reading this, remembering.
Some days you feel invincible. Others you swear you’ve never been slower. You Google everything from heart rate zones, watches, shoes, what to eat, what not to eat, run-clubs or whether you’re actually dying or just sore.
You start noticing runners everywhere. Their shoes, form how calm they look. You think, maybe one day.
You begin saying weird things like just a 5k, 10k marathon, long run. Over coffee or lunch you share everything you are learning. Your non-running friends just smile and look at you like 'what's this new language you have learned, or you have joined some underground club or cult'?
My first year coming back to running after a junior stint, was a challenge from a mate to run in a 10k race. My first race back was ran in 45 minutes. It hurt, my legs and lungs exploded, however, I loved it. I was hooked... again.
I think the day you chose to run when no one was watching, by yourself or with a friend is the day you became a runner.
Shoes On, Just Run. (Thanks H)
Year one is where the superhero origin story happens.
You’re not fast. You’re not perfect.
But you’re out there.
And every run is another rep in becoming who you were meant to be.
No cape required, YOU ARE YOUR OWN SUPERHERO.
THE PIT STOP
What to take from Year One:
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Consistency beats intensity. One good run doesn’t make you. Twenty average ones do.
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There’s no right pace, only your pace. Trust your rhythm, not someone else’s results.
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Being a runner isn’t a pace or distance. It’s a decision. If you run, you’re in.