Yesterday a colleague told me that she and another woman who works in the building are training for a marathon. Good for them, I thought. Then she asked if I’d like to join them. It’s a race for women over 40, she said. In New York City, she said, wouldn’t it be fun to go to New York City. We have eight whole months to get ready, she said. She’s not a runner, so it was fine that I wasn’t a runner, she said. I looked at her skeptically. From zero to 26.2 miles in less than a year? I don’t think so. That’s crazy talk.
Yet, somehow I found myself not saying “no”. Not saying “yes”, either, but that I was even thinking about considering the possibility seemed nuts. I told her okay she could make me a copy of the “from walking to jogging” training plan but I wasn’t making any promises.
I mentioned the conversation to Mr. Karen last night and he seemed to think it was a fine idea, and pointed out that starting training didn’t mean I had to run the marathon. I could just see how far I could get with it. Not very far, is my fear. I’ve never done any distance running, but neither have I shown any aptitude for it. There was that one time in gym class in high school when they made us run around the perimeter of the big field in our lovely royal blue shortie overall gym suits–I didn’t suck at that, finishing in the top ten or so as I remember. But it was hard. And I was what, 17? Surely it won’t be easier at 44, over a much longer distance.
But why not at least try. I definitely need to get more exercise. Sure, I may find that my knees or hips or feet or breasts can’t take it, but both running shoe and exercise bra technology have advanced since I last tried jogging. I don’t have the body of a runner–I’ve never been lean and lanky, and I’ve got these wide hips and broad shoulders–but I’m not looking to be competitive so that shouldn’t matter. I just need to get the body I do have moving more.
So I’m going to try. I really don’t think I’ll be running a marathon, not in New York City in the spring of 2007 or any other time, but wouldn’t it be cool if somehow I did? So far my training program has consisted of setting up a folder for bookmarks, including the marathon page (so I can keep checking back for the 2007 date to be announced even though it doesn’t matter because I won’t be running in it) and the 5K Walking & Jogging Program I’m going to start with. I sure hope that first minute of jogging doesn’t do me in.
Powered by WordPress