By Maren Elliott
We've asked Maren Elliott to follow-up her inspiration post last week, The Final Miles, with a little insight into the recovery during the weeks after those final miles.
The morning after finishing a marathon I wake up depressed – without fail. It always seems so silly; I’ve accomplished something great so I should be elated. Not to mention I’m free of long training runs, foam-rolling sessions, and painful massages. But somehow the extra time and less regulated schedule doesn’t bring the relief I always anticipate. I’m antsy, feel out of shape, and generally pretty grumpy. The emotional recovery from a marathon is typically the hardest for me, but there is also the physical recovery.
Depending on the marathon I may be unable to walk or take stairs without grasping a hand-railing for fear that my legs will buckle and quit working. Then there are those inexplicable marathons when I feel great the next day, like I could go for a run (and I usually desperately want to). It can be hard to know exactly how to approach the recovery period especially when you feel out of sync physically and emotionally.
The general rule of thumb is to give yourself as many days to recover as miles you ran. So for a marathon, you’d take 26 days for recovery. There have been times when my legs needed twice that before I could even think about lacing up running shoes again. And there have been times when I’m ready to run a week later. In both cases the important thing to remember is to listen to your body and not force anything – it is different for everyone.
Taking walks and doing an easy bike ride in the first days after the marathon helps relieve the soreness a bit, and can provide some of the mental release I need in the absence of running. Regardless of how long it takes, I constantly remind myself to “be nice to myself” during the awkward transition weeks after the marathon. This sounds easy enough but can be hard when things feel off balance. If you give yourself the time you need to recover and heal, the first run back will bring the endorphin rush you crave and all will feel right again.
The Final Miles
By Maren Elliott
The NYC marathon is only few days away. Success on race day this weekend eventually comes down to those final miles, so we've asked Maren Elliott, a 3:00 marathoner, experienced long distance runner and one of our favorite running advisors, to discuss what it takes to make it to the finish.
Everyone always says that the marathon starts at mile 20. The official halfway point is 13.1 miles, but talk to any seasoned marathoner and they’re sure to share battle stories of fighting through the last 6.2 miles of their most recent race.
For me the real clincher are those final four miles. It is during those painful, long, and seemingly endless miles that my body breaks down and my mind starts telling me I don’t have to finish. I’ve completed 7 marathons and every single time the final four miles try to keep me from crossing the finish line. Regardless of whether I’m running a 3:00 marathon or close to 4:00, once I hit mile 22 all bets are off.
I’ve sat down on a curb in the Bronx to take off my shoe, convinced that my second toe was broken. I’ve stopped at an aid station desperate for ibuprofen (or “Vitamin I” as we like to call it). I’ve almost peed my pants while running down Michigan Ave in Chicago… well, maybe I actually did, just little. I have slowed to a pace that is not much faster than a walk and watched as everyone passed me by.
Though the physical experiences may be slightly different, every time it is essentially the same: I start telling myself that this race is stupid, I don’t have to finish, no one will care if I just give up.
But I never have. Somehow I keep going, one foot in front of the other over and over again. I am never sure what motivates me to continue at that point in the race when everything is telling you to stop. My friends and family would say that it is my competitive nature. I’d like to believe it is inspiration from the other thousands of runners. It is probably a combination of both and the simple truth that life is hard with unexpected hurdles, but you have to keep going.
It is those final miles, the ones that hurt the most and when we’re looking for any excuse to quit, that make the marathon so special. It isn’t always pretty and certainly doesn’t always go as planned, but I know that despite the challenges and pain, I can always finish.
I'm a Girl . . . I'm Going to Run
"I wasn’t masquerading as a male . . . I was what I was. I’m a girl, I have a skirt, my hair is done, I have lipstick on and I’m going to run.”
- Dr. Julia Chase-Brand
United Press International
A recent New York Times article tells an incredible story about a woman, Dr. Julia Chase-Brand, who refused to accept our nation's view that road races are men's only events and the ban on women's official participation in these races 50 years ago.
Embracing her femininity combined with her athletic ability, Chase-Brand paved the way for women runners today when she competed (and beat several men) in the Manchester Road Race in 1961, despite the American Athletic Union ban on women's participation.
Read the full article, "A Leading Pioneer" for an inspirational story, and reminder to honor those responsible, both men and women, for the evolution of women's running the next time you line up at the start of a road race or receive support along the way.
7 Reasons Why Massage is Great for Runners
We asked one of our favorite Brooklyn massage therapists (who has helped us recover from many a long run) to discuss the merits of massage and why it's great for runners.
by Jennifer Mayer, LMT
PREVENT: Massage can help prevent injuries by increasing fluidity in tissues, increase range of motion and increase flexibility. Additionally, massage is an excellent way to gain valuable information about the condition of your muscles and work out any potential areas of tightness that could lead to an injury.
STRETCH: Stretching improves range of motion, muscle flexibility and prevents injury. All three are important factors to keep you running healthy and injury free.
FLUSH: Running produces lactic acid, a metabolic waste product the gets stuck in the muscles. Lactic acid causes pain and discomfort by irritating the nerves in the muscle tissue. Massage flushes lactic acid out of the muscles, enabling you to recover quicker, with less pain and discomfort from workouts.
EASE: Massage helps the body move freely and with more ease. When muscle repairs itself after exercise and strength building, the muscle fibers are misaligned. Massage helps realign these fibers.
HEAL: By increasing blood flow, massage helps injuries recover faster by bringing essential nutrients and tissue repairing cells to the injury site. This increased flow also removes wastes created by the injury quicker, further supporting the healing process.
SUPPORT: Massage with an emphasis on structural alignment helps runners keep good posture and structural integrity by releasing tightness throughout the body. Releasing tight feet can do wonders for your gate and low back or hip pain.
DOWN TIME: Rest is an important aspect of any training regime. Massage encourages time for rejuvenation to restore your reserves.
Jennifer Mayer is a licensed massage therapist practicing in Brooklyn, NY. Over the past 8 years as an LMT Jennifer has had the pleasure to work with athletes from all backgrounds. From eager rock climbing kids, to professional cyclo-cross racers to individuals training for 10ks and triathlons to Olympic runners. Jennifer also specializes in prenatal and postpartum massage. You can visit her website www.mamamoonnyc.com for more information.
Update on 2013-04-02 15:48 by Hot Bird Running
As we focus on recovery this April, Jen Mayer's advice is just as practical and needed! Reward yourself post race with a relaxing, soothing, vital massage.
A Personal Account of Filling an Olympic Athlete’s Shoes - Destination Race Preparation 101
What happens when you wake up the morning of race day to discover not that you forgot your running shoes, but you flew all the way across the country with two right shoes? You might laugh at how ridiculous and far-fetched this sounds – but it’s possible – and it happened to yours truly last weekend after flying across the country from NYC to Portland, OR to run in the Eugene Women’s Half Marathon the following day. For proof, check out the race recap newspaper article featuring my story.
How does this happen? When packing my shoes for the two-day trip, instead of grabbing a right and left shoe from the shoe basket filled with three pairs of the same running shoe, I looked at the tread on the bottom of each of the six shoes and packed the two with the least amount of wear and tear. Not smart - I realize this now especially since the tread on all of my left shoes is significantly more worn down in the same spot than my right shoes.
Unfortunately, I packed the morning of my flight and mentally spaced on this important piece of information. So, the night before the race, I laid out my gear including my timing chip, bib, running shoes and even my hair rubber bands failing to notice what was missing - my left shoe! It wasn’t until I went to put my shoes on before walking out the door thirty minutes before the race started that I became aware of my ridiculous mistake.
How do you fix this problem? It was too early and there wasn’t enough time before the start to buy a new pair of shoes. My cousin, who was running the race with me, had a bunch of extra pairs of running shoes in her car, but she wears a full size smaller than I do. At this point, my only options were to run in two right shoes or cram my size 9.5 feet into size 8 running shoes. Neither of these would get me through the race uninjured, or even to the finish line. I was only running this race as part of my training for the NYC marathon in November. On the other hand, how could I forgo running in the race when the entire point of my trip was the race??? So I put on a pair of muddy size 8’s and headed to the start.
By the time we arrived at the start, my feet were going numb and I was losing circulation in one of my big toes. My cousin, still determined to find me a pair of shoes that fit well enough for me to make it through the race still standing, walked right over the announcers at the starting line who were busy getting the runners fired up with enthusiastic yelling over a loud speaker system and asked them to make a special announcement. Moments later, over a thousand runners and spectators heard, “if anyone has an extra pair of size 9.5 running shoes to lend to a runner who just flew in from Brooklyn, please come see us at the starting line.”
At first, all I could hear was the sound of several runners sympathetic sighs for the runner from Brooklyn without shoes. Then a woman holding a newborn walked over to me and said she wears a size ten and asked if that would work. Without hesitation, I immediately accepted her offer and began to take off the size 8’s that were killing me. As I was lacing up the size 10’s, another woman started telling me how I was borrowing the shoes of an Olympic runner (who also happened to be the race director), Nicole Teter. This wasn’t intimidating or anything!
The race was starting in less than three minutes, so I thanked Nicole profusely and confirmed that she would be at the finish so I could return the shoes before moving into the crowd of runners waiting behind the starting line. As they played the national anthem over the speaker systems, my cousin and I fumbled with the plastic zip tie that attached my timing chip to the shoes I had just borrowed (from an Olympic Athlete!). Official race photos from the start show all the runners bouncing up and down waiting for the gun to off except for the two of us who were bent over dealing with my shoes. The actual race turned out to be a beautiful course and my time was right on target for my goal pace that I’ve set for the NYC marathon and my feet felt great the entire race.
Although the race was amazing, the most memorable part by far was the finish. Apparently, my story caught several peoples’ attention and when they announced Jessica Green from Brooklyn, NY as I crossed the finish several people I’ve never met before came right over to celebrate my finish and ask for a race recap. I was then shooed over to the tent where my shoe donor, i.e. the race director and Olympic athlete, was sitting. We exchanged laughs, talked about the course and the freight train delay less than a mile into the course (see linked article for more details). Then the press came over to interview me about my shoe debacle for the race recap article in Eugene’s newspaper. For a brief moment in time, I felt like I had stepped into the spotlight as a professional athlete – and I LOVED every second of it.
A very special thank you to Nicole, for your generosity and charitable giving (she told me to keep the shoes!) and my cousin for coming up with the idea to ask the announcers to make a request over the speakers for an extra pair of size 9.5 shoes and for all of those responsible for a great race experience.
Next time I travel out of town for a race, I guarantee you that I’ll be wearing my running shoes during the drive or flight there and when I line up at the start of future races I’ll be smiling about the time I successfully filled an Olympic athlete’s shoes for the Eugene Women’s Half Marathon!
By Jessica Green - Hot Bird Running Co-Owner & Coach
Running: Taking Me by Surprise
Megan in Prospect ParkBy Megan Englebrecht
I was your occasional treadmill runner. 2.0 – 2.8 miles at a pace of 6.4 tops. Running, I thought, was dull and difficult. Between the years of 2006 through 2009, I would schlep to the Irving Place NYSC after work with the rest of every young professional, living between Murray Hill and the East Village. With me, I carried every piece of my day. I would wait in line, dreading when it was my turn run on that loud, shaky machine. My brain reeling with the coulda-woulda-shoulda’s of my life.
My treadmill jogs were completely dependent on my iPod, and the music video playing on VH1. Beyonce I found motivating, Fox News I did not. And because of the strict 30 minute rule during peak hours, I skipped any attempt at a warm-up and went for my fast pace immediately off the bat. Ten minutes in and I was uninterested, winded and distracted by what the “real” runner next to me was watching on CNN. An inner dialogue took me over.
“That runner must run races, maybe even marathons. They are running at 8.0 mph!...Should I have sushi or another one of Amy’s organic, frozen dinners? Can I even afford sushi tonight?...Is that Lindsay Lohan on CNN? How does she have time to make movies, go to court and stay so svelte?! Ugh.”
“I am not a Runner,” I told myself.
It was during this time, too, that I told myself, “I hate my job, and I am not the kind of person to up and quit my career for work that is more creative, fulfilling and beneficial to the community in which I live….I mean, I’m already 26 years old!?”
I think I might have prayed for something in my life to change. A change of some kind started to easily blow though my life when I found yoga, again. I was casually committed to a yoga practice in college; as a former dancer my body took to the movement, the choreographed sequences, and the student-teacher dynamic. The difference between then and now was that I needed yoga. Yoga gave to me a connection between mind, body and spirit. I learned to breathe in a fast-paced, chaotic and uncertain city. I gained back confidence my body, in my strength, in my grace.
Yoga crept into my life in other ways, too. And though the two may not be inextricably linked, I ended up quitting my hated job. I attained a certification in Pilates, and began to grow with the company lululemon. Somehow living outside of my comfort zone began to feel…good.
“Who am I?” I joked with friends and family as my life transitioned into something different. Even though up until a month ago, “I am not a Runner,” was still in my vernacular. The universe must have heard my declaration, because it introduced to me my run coach, Jessica Green.
“You are a Runner,” Jessica said to me. “No, I am not.” Thus began a series of motivational emails that left me with no choice but to try, yet again, an attempt to run. And run I did [at one of Hot Bird Running's Tuesday night Brooklyn Bridge Park Group Workouts]. We started slow in the Brooklyn Bridge Park, at a ten-minute mile pace. She broke up our 3.5 mile run with some strength training; my strong suit from all the yoga. Somehow she made running light and easy. I didn’t focus on the heat, on the heaving of my lungs, nor the beginnings of a cramp in my side waist. Instead, I looked out to the Brooklyn Bridge and appreciated the view of a city that I love. I met Emma, a lovely new mom in the neighborhood who used to run marathons! I focused on Jess’s persevering positivity and explanation of tricep dips on the park bench. I actually had fun.
That was a month ago, and I am still running on my own and with Jess. I joked about signing up for a race. Then I actually did sign up for a race. Rock 'n' Roll New York 10k in Prospect Park October 22nd! “Who am I?” The answer seems to be always-changing. In this life, living outside of my comfort zone, I surprise myself everyday. And it feels pretty good.
Megan is the Showroom Manager at lululemon athletica Brooklyn. Megan is from Cincinnati and now resides in Williamsburg. She is a yogi, runner, foodie, wino and creator of Possibility.
Fueling, Naturally
By Deacon Carpenter
A few weeks ago, I ran my first half marathon with my close friend, Meghan. It has been one of my goals for a couple of years, so I'd been training for a few months leading up to the race; working on my distance, getting my pace down, and eating foods, which helpg give me the fuel to complete the task.
As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I know a thing or two about food. Ayurveda is the medical practice to Yoga, which essentially focuses on food and herbal therapies to prevent disease and keep us healthy. In my practice, I work with athletes who want to maintain their bodies, give them an edge when they compete and provide them with higher-quality options over the options of high-performance foods engineered for their sport.
If you are an athlete, you’re already familiar with the high-performance and engineered foods on the market, unfortunately, I wasn’t. Meghan and I were running a pretty good pace – 8:30, and at mile 6, I decided to pop a Gu to see if it would enhance my performance, but by mile 8, my stomach was in knots.
If you are looking for a more natural approach to your training program, or are looking for a healthier Gu when you are competing, I have a few suggestions.
--Keep your metabolism going: eating moderate sized meals every three hours will help moderate your digestive fire running optimally. This will prevent you from becoming ‘Hangry’ (angry because you’re hungry) and will keep you from your blood sugar dropping through the floor.
--At race day, fuel up on foods which are easily digested, and will give you the fuel to get through the beginning and middle of your race. I recommend dry-roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds mixed with dates and raisins. You can also add dry roasted almonds to the mix as well.
--When it comes to Gu’s, try to find the ones without caffeine – although this sounds like a great idea when you grab it, it’s not sustainable – your body needs calories and electrolytes to help you power through your race, and keep your muscles functioning properly.
For more information on Ayurveda or to understand what foods are best for your body type, visit www.dailyveda.com
Deacon founded Daily Veda after working in Global Advertising for 16 yrs. He practices yoga, runs and promotes healthy living through natural eating and Ayurvedic medicine. He's a wealth of knowledge and fun.
A few weeks ago, I ran my first half marathon with my close friend, Meghan. It has been one of my goals for a couple of years, so I'd been training for a few months leading up to the race; working on my distance, getting my pace down, and eating foods, which helpg give me the fuel to complete the task.
As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I know a thing or two about food. Ayurveda is the medical practice to Yoga, which essentially focuses on food and herbal therapies to prevent disease and keep us healthy. In my practice, I work with athletes who want to maintain their bodies, give them an edge when they compete and provide them with higher-quality options over the options of high-performance foods engineered for their sport.
If you are an athlete, you’re already familiar with the high-performance and engineered foods on the market, unfortunately, I wasn’t. Meghan and I were running a pretty good pace – 8:30, and at mile 6, I decided to pop a Gu to see if it would enhance my performance, but by mile 8, my stomach was in knots.
If you are looking for a more natural approach to your training program, or are looking for a healthier Gu when you are competing, I have a few suggestions.
--Keep your metabolism going: eating moderate sized meals every three hours will help moderate your digestive fire running optimally. This will prevent you from becoming ‘Hangry’ (angry because you’re hungry) and will keep you from your blood sugar dropping through the floor.
--At race day, fuel up on foods which are easily digested, and will give you the fuel to get through the beginning and middle of your race. I recommend dry-roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds mixed with dates and raisins. You can also add dry roasted almonds to the mix as well.
--When it comes to Gu’s, try to find the ones without caffeine – although this sounds like a great idea when you grab it, it’s not sustainable – your body needs calories and electrolytes to help you power through your race, and keep your muscles functioning properly.
For more information on Ayurveda or to understand what foods are best for your body type, visit www.dailyveda.com
Deacon founded Daily Veda after working in Global Advertising for 16 yrs. He practices yoga, runs and promotes healthy living through natural eating and Ayurvedic medicine. He's a wealth of knowledge and fun.
Finishing on a hill
By Kathryn Reynolds
So this time around I made a promise to myself that I was going to improve my half marathon time. Why I registered for another half was beyond me. I ran 2010’s NYC half (my first long distance race) and obviously felt accomplished at the end, but also vowed I would never race that distance again. And here I found myself, swept up by the camaraderie of my running friend’s influence to register for Providence’s Rock and Roll Half…in August no less.
Since I have a direct line to Hot Bird’s running expertise, one of the co-founders is my sister, I asked her to put together an official training plan. I gave myself more time than I probably needed, partly because I’m a nurse on a rotating day-night schedule and knew I’d have an erratic training schedule.
The beginning was confidence boosting. I did the hill workouts, the intervals, the tempos, and ran an easy (and fast) 9 mile long run. Around this time, life started getting, well, life-y. I was working overnight shifts, the temperature in Boston was a humidity infused 90 to 100 degrees, and there were life stressors that I had no control over. So what was the first thing to go? Yup, my training.
My coach modified my training though. She was privy to all the issues I was dealing with since she is my sister and all. Maybe most people wouldn’t feel compelled to tell their running coach as much as I told mine (ha) but she adjusted to my derailment with professionalism and realism. She didn’t condemn me for not being the all-star athlete I said I was going to be in the beginning, there was no scolding for not following her directions, no giving up on me. She boosted me up and told me what I needed focus on, picked out the important runs and scaled back on my mileage.
Race day came and I was nervous but I had my coach with me. In the beginning, I wanted to hold back, afraid that I might not even be able to complete the 13.1 mile distance. But she told me to just go and not think about it. She knew how fast we were running and kept me on my goal pace. We killed the first 10k. Around mile 10 things got hard. I kept telling myself, ‘it’s only a 5k left, you can do this.’ My coach stuck with me and kept a little ahead so I had something to focus on. She was like the carrot, and I was the rabbit. This little rabbit, however, did want to rest and take a nap on the side of the course. If it hadn’t been a torrential downpour the day of the race, I might have. No, no, I’m kidding, but the point is, I was tired and understandably so. My coach kept me focused and not only did I finish but I beat my previous half marathon time...and killed it on the uphill finish!
Now I’m excited to keep going. I don’t know when my next half will be, but having a real live coach changed something for me. I think I gained the confidence to focus in on my goals. Previously, I had been too afraid of failure to really even try. But it's ok if you don’t meet your original goal - I didn’t run the projected time I had set out for myself three months ago - but I did run strong and ran faster than I had before. Little milestones and the help of a good coach seem to be the keys for pushing my running forward. Thanks Hot Bird!
So this time around I made a promise to myself that I was going to improve my half marathon time. Why I registered for another half was beyond me. I ran 2010’s NYC half (my first long distance race) and obviously felt accomplished at the end, but also vowed I would never race that distance again. And here I found myself, swept up by the camaraderie of my running friend’s influence to register for Providence’s Rock and Roll Half…in August no less.
Since I have a direct line to Hot Bird’s running expertise, one of the co-founders is my sister, I asked her to put together an official training plan. I gave myself more time than I probably needed, partly because I’m a nurse on a rotating day-night schedule and knew I’d have an erratic training schedule.
The beginning was confidence boosting. I did the hill workouts, the intervals, the tempos, and ran an easy (and fast) 9 mile long run. Around this time, life started getting, well, life-y. I was working overnight shifts, the temperature in Boston was a humidity infused 90 to 100 degrees, and there were life stressors that I had no control over. So what was the first thing to go? Yup, my training.
My coach modified my training though. She was privy to all the issues I was dealing with since she is my sister and all. Maybe most people wouldn’t feel compelled to tell their running coach as much as I told mine (ha) but she adjusted to my derailment with professionalism and realism. She didn’t condemn me for not being the all-star athlete I said I was going to be in the beginning, there was no scolding for not following her directions, no giving up on me. She boosted me up and told me what I needed focus on, picked out the important runs and scaled back on my mileage.
Race day came and I was nervous but I had my coach with me. In the beginning, I wanted to hold back, afraid that I might not even be able to complete the 13.1 mile distance. But she told me to just go and not think about it. She knew how fast we were running and kept me on my goal pace. We killed the first 10k. Around mile 10 things got hard. I kept telling myself, ‘it’s only a 5k left, you can do this.’ My coach stuck with me and kept a little ahead so I had something to focus on. She was like the carrot, and I was the rabbit. This little rabbit, however, did want to rest and take a nap on the side of the course. If it hadn’t been a torrential downpour the day of the race, I might have. No, no, I’m kidding, but the point is, I was tired and understandably so. My coach kept me focused and not only did I finish but I beat my previous half marathon time...and killed it on the uphill finish!
Now I’m excited to keep going. I don’t know when my next half will be, but having a real live coach changed something for me. I think I gained the confidence to focus in on my goals. Previously, I had been too afraid of failure to really even try. But it's ok if you don’t meet your original goal - I didn’t run the projected time I had set out for myself three months ago - but I did run strong and ran faster than I had before. Little milestones and the help of a good coach seem to be the keys for pushing my running forward. Thanks Hot Bird!
Oh no. I’m not a runner.
By Jaema Berry
That’s what I would say to anyone who was silly enough to mistake me for someone who might someday run. Here’s the thing - if you passed me on the street now, in my mid-twenties, you’d probably just see an average, reasonably-athletically-built woman. But when forced to run, that body would spontaneously combust.
It started long ago. I was, for lack of a better term, the fat kid. Most people have a less fortunate-looking year or two of adolescence. I had a rather husky… decade. It started in elementary school and lasted through several formative years, then I hit high school and just kinda stretched out. Thank goodness.
I am also a dancer. (What? How did that happen? Very supportive teachers and family and a strange lack of self-awareness, I think.) I could stretch and pose and move for days, as long as it didn’t include a push-up, any sort of machine, or, heaven forbid, running. After a brief and less-than-stellar foray into third-grade soccer, I never ran more than the required gym class mile.
Also, it should be noted, I have many runner friends. I’m a hardcore marathon cheerer. I’m a cooker of pasta meals the night before races for my carb-loading runner roommates. I also believe that reasonably athletic people can start running pretty easily. I would even encourage it!
But me?! Helloooo, I’m not a runner! I’m a dancer and a former husky kid! My body is CLEARLY not cut out for running. My knees are bad. I’m not “strong” or “athletic.” I can’t run unless I’m being chased by a giant monster… down a hill.
I held this point of view for about 15 years. (Out of 25. That’s significant. At age 9 I wasn’t holding ANY point of view about exercise.) I would (and did) try almost any form of exercise, and enjoy it, but no running. Then one day, my coworker Meghan Reynolds, after hearing my familiar “ME?! RUN?! HELL TO THE NO,” said to me something along the lines of “You gotta man up. Just run 2 minutes, then walk 2 minutes, and start from there.” She’s got a pretty no-nonsense way of expressing herself, and after I huffed and puffed in my head about how that was ridiculous, she doesn’t know what it’s like to be in my body, I’ll keel over, I probably won’t make it and my legs will fall off and I’ll die and THEN she’ll be SO WRONG, I realized this: I believe myself to be in decent shape. I believe any of my friends who are in decent shape could run for two minutes.
It’s probably pretty ridiculous that I think I can’t.
I stewed on this, and then I tied my shoelaces. I was literally so scared I almost threw up.
And then, I ran. Two minutes running, two minutes walking. For 3.5 miles. And then I drank some water.
That was it!
I made it!
Are you shocked???! Duh, of course not. But this was revelatory. And here’s what else: that was about a month ago. Since then, I have run at least once a week… and it’s even getting easier.
Moral of this story? I invented lots of crazy things about myself and my (non)abilities. Know what I mean? Maybe it’s not running—maybe it’s first dates. Or cooking. Or public speaking. Or writing a blog. There’s something you see lots of normal people doing on a daily basis, but you’ve decided that it’s off-limits to you.
If I can run, then trust me, whatever it is, it’s not off-limits. Get a friend to come with you, man up, and just do it for two minutes and see if you die. No? Okay great. Lesson learned.
Jaema Berry is a dancer, yogi and assistant manager at lululemon athletica Brooklyn Showroom.
That’s what I would say to anyone who was silly enough to mistake me for someone who might someday run. Here’s the thing - if you passed me on the street now, in my mid-twenties, you’d probably just see an average, reasonably-athletically-built woman. But when forced to run, that body would spontaneously combust.
It started long ago. I was, for lack of a better term, the fat kid. Most people have a less fortunate-looking year or two of adolescence. I had a rather husky… decade. It started in elementary school and lasted through several formative years, then I hit high school and just kinda stretched out. Thank goodness.
I am also a dancer. (What? How did that happen? Very supportive teachers and family and a strange lack of self-awareness, I think.) I could stretch and pose and move for days, as long as it didn’t include a push-up, any sort of machine, or, heaven forbid, running. After a brief and less-than-stellar foray into third-grade soccer, I never ran more than the required gym class mile.
Also, it should be noted, I have many runner friends. I’m a hardcore marathon cheerer. I’m a cooker of pasta meals the night before races for my carb-loading runner roommates. I also believe that reasonably athletic people can start running pretty easily. I would even encourage it!
But me?! Helloooo, I’m not a runner! I’m a dancer and a former husky kid! My body is CLEARLY not cut out for running. My knees are bad. I’m not “strong” or “athletic.” I can’t run unless I’m being chased by a giant monster… down a hill.
I held this point of view for about 15 years. (Out of 25. That’s significant. At age 9 I wasn’t holding ANY point of view about exercise.) I would (and did) try almost any form of exercise, and enjoy it, but no running. Then one day, my coworker Meghan Reynolds, after hearing my familiar “ME?! RUN?! HELL TO THE NO,” said to me something along the lines of “You gotta man up. Just run 2 minutes, then walk 2 minutes, and start from there.” She’s got a pretty no-nonsense way of expressing herself, and after I huffed and puffed in my head about how that was ridiculous, she doesn’t know what it’s like to be in my body, I’ll keel over, I probably won’t make it and my legs will fall off and I’ll die and THEN she’ll be SO WRONG, I realized this: I believe myself to be in decent shape. I believe any of my friends who are in decent shape could run for two minutes.
It’s probably pretty ridiculous that I think I can’t.
I stewed on this, and then I tied my shoelaces. I was literally so scared I almost threw up.
And then, I ran. Two minutes running, two minutes walking. For 3.5 miles. And then I drank some water.
That was it!
I made it!
Are you shocked???! Duh, of course not. But this was revelatory. And here’s what else: that was about a month ago. Since then, I have run at least once a week… and it’s even getting easier.
Moral of this story? I invented lots of crazy things about myself and my (non)abilities. Know what I mean? Maybe it’s not running—maybe it’s first dates. Or cooking. Or public speaking. Or writing a blog. There’s something you see lots of normal people doing on a daily basis, but you’ve decided that it’s off-limits to you.
If I can run, then trust me, whatever it is, it’s not off-limits. Get a friend to come with you, man up, and just do it for two minutes and see if you die. No? Okay great. Lesson learned.
Jaema Berry is a dancer, yogi and assistant manager at lululemon athletica Brooklyn Showroom.