I’m a Runner
It is with no small amount of fanfare that I would like to make an announcement: I, TallGirl, am a runner.
You’re probably shrugging your shoulders. People run all the time, right? And even I have run a couple of half marathons in the past. But here’s the thing: even in the middle of training for 13.1-mile runs, I never felt like a runner. It was hard. It was grueling. It was about as pleasant as listening to my in-laws rant about how my best friend is singlehandedly going to ruin the world because she is… a registered Democrat. (Insert your shocked, audible gasp here.) I would come home from a run completely demoralized, with my joints aching. My back would be so tight that I couldn’t even bend over to touch my toes. It hurt. Running sucked.
I’ve never been much of an athlete. That doesn’t mean that I don’t like sports. It simply means that I’ve lacked the coordination and skill to be good at them. But it’s one thing to not be good at basketball or baseball, and another thing to not be good at running. It’s running. I’ve been doing it since I was a toddler. Why did the enjoyment elude me?
People told me that it wasn’t fun because of my height. My body simply wasn’t designed for this, they’d say. But I just couldn’t believe that this was true. Sure, I’m a six-footer, but I’m carrying around less weight than most 5’6″ women that I know, and physics seems to indicate that weight, not height, should be more of a factor. So after my last injury, I started doing what a research geek does best: I read. A lot. And while there are dozens of sources and studies that I read online, it was all largely encapsulated in Born to Run, a book so chock-full of “a-ha!” moments that I wanted to immediately go out for a run.
I ditched my orthotics. I changed my shoes. I changed my stride. I practiced and concentrated and focused on what I was doing, rather than just pounding the pavement. And by god, it worked. Not only have I not re-injured that tendon that sidelined me for the first eight months of the year, but I’ve increased my speed by 25%. I come home happy, relaxed and limber enough that I can not only touch my toes, I can reach beyond them. And every morning, I look forward to going out for my run. YMMV.
It’s not to late to become a runner. Really. I’m proof.
Friends of TDP
