Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wanna Race? Don't Worry - I'm Not Even a Runner...

I wasn't going to race until spring, but it is only a 5k.  I have decided to take part in the Turkey Trot 5k on Thanksgiving in an attempt to run a PR 5K before I proceed to have a PR quantity of turkey consumed in one sitting. 






This is not the Boston Marathon, and I really could not care less how everyone else does.  This one is Sam v. Sam, and I don't think the old me stands a chance.

In the past five weeks I have only run once. I have successfully learned the difference between running and sprinting.  I have learned what "intense" means.  While doing speed work at the track at the beginning of the summer I was unable to break 1:40 for a 400m sprint, yet last Sunday I put back 1:28 without thinking twice, no warm up jog.  Dude, CrossFit is strange.

I have tried to repress the memory of my last race, but the pain of the 2011 Corporate Cup is still fresh - still humiliating.  I went into the race with almost totally inflexible connective tissue in both feet.  I was so out of touch with reality that I seriously thought that anger alone was going to help me sprout wings.  WRONG.  The first 20 minutes were fine as I rode on adrenaline, but right around the 5K split, reality sunk in.  Every step brought searing pain and slowed my pace to an embarrassing jog.  49:39 + a ruined body.  Look in the mirror, babe... what are you effing doing?

It has been two months, and I no longer have any pain in my plantar fascia despite concern that I had pushed myself to a chronic injury.  Thanks body - let's be friends again.

I love running like crazy people love stamp collecting.  When I stopped running, I was only concerned with how to fix myself so I could run again.  It was as if I was scheduled for a double leg amputation sometime soon.  I was so stuck on the idea that I was a "runner" that I was tearing my own body apart.  For a smart girl, I was making some pretty nonsensical decisions.

I love running because it is natural.  Sooooo what you are trying to tell me is that if I am a human, then I am also a runner.  Who else loves conditional statements?  Geometry anyone?  Let's do proofs!  Just kidding.

It is tough to give up on the labels we put on ourselves and find the confidence to be physically and mentally dynamic and ever-changing.  It is hard to let go.  Hopefully, I will be active and healthy for many years to come, always adapting - always growing.  And what do I tell people when they ask me, "so what DO YOU DO?"  Simple, I am a human, and right now, I am also an athlete.
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About Sam

I am a writer in Omaha, Nebraska sharing my adventures in the foundations of healthy living - nutrition, being active, and being funny.

I was born in Kansas City in the sweltering summer of July, 1986. I was nearly born in the car because I was so pumped to get my life started. I have been bouncing off of the walls ever since. Growing up I hung out with the big kids who were even older than my sister (and best friend) Allie. I quickly developed an "I'm over it" 'tude toward kids my own age whose pastimes seemed juvenile - an interesting perspective coming from a preschooler. My snobbish worldview was hard earned however, as I was forced to learn both multiplication and division early to keep up when we played "school," and I was always forced to do dangerous stuff first to make sure it was okay, like eating unidentified berries and making the first run on super steep hills while sledding. We biked all day, ate wild honeysuckle, painted the house with mud, and collected cicada shells for no reason other than they stick to fabric and freaked my mom out.

I quickly realized that even little legs can get you as far as a car can, and as a young child, you really have nothing but time. My adventures were only restrained by the fact that adults do not find it acceptable for young children to explore the town on foot unaccompanied. I prematurely developed a desire to be an independent self-supporting person, so I opened a Kool-Aid/popcorn business to finance my big plans. Looking back, I would say that the only issues holding me back were my limited advertising budget and the fact that I was still too short to ride roller coasters. People just don't take you seriously when you can't go on the upside-down rides.

I was moved to Omaha in the second grade. I continued walking all over the place, exploring surrounding neighborhoods and visiting grocery stores to pick up my favorites: Goldfish, Sprite, and sugar cigarettes. I don't even think you can buy those anymore, and for the record, I never started smoking.

I never lost my hard work ethic, and I needed to increase my income to afford my new hobbies of beading and Polaroid photography. At the age of ten I mailed in a response to an advertisement for paper delivery routes without discussing the issue with my family. Sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands when people don't share you vision. The people at the Omaha World Herald must have had a good feeling about me becuase they contacted my parents to tell them that they wanted to hire me but would feel better if there was an older family member onboard. I still wonder if Allie holds any resentment toward me for pulling her into the labor force when she was only twelve.

In third grade, I followed Allie's lead and began taking dance classes at Mary Lorraine's Dance Center. For the next eleven years it became "what I did." Nowadays, I train more like an athlete, but I will always move like a dancer, and being in a studio will always feel like home.

After high school I relocated again (this time of my own volition) to study "everything" in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. I acquired a degree in marketing and finance that I may use someday. More importantly, I became a close friend and Alpha Phi sister with a cross country runner who easily persuaded me to train for the 2005 Lincoln half-marathon. I have been running ever since. In April 2011 I developed plantar fasciitis after jumping into an intense 50-70 mile/week schedule. This is the first athletic injury in my life. Although it has been indescribably frustrating both physically and emotionally, the silver lining is my increased receptivity to more variety in fitness disciplines.

I enjoy Pilates, yoga, enjoy Zumba, plyometric interval training, running, walking, and seeing how quickly I can run up stairs without losing my lunch. When I am too exhausted to move, I read and write. I love fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, poetry, philosophy, song lyrics, and comedy. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I love spell check, and felt tip pens.

I am happy and optimistic most of the time. I enjoy living simply and deeply. I hope you enjoy what I have to share.







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