“We should start a running group.”
Those six simple words changed my life almost seven years ago. At the time, while I could not say my life was a total disaster, nor was it a bed of roses. I was working full-time in an interesting but challenging job, finishing off a Master’s degree part-time and doing some of the admin work for our retail business. All of those things involved a lot of time sitting in front of a computer, and not much physical exercise.
For some time I had been aware that my pants and skirts were getting less comfortable and my waist had all but disappeared under what I privately called “my pot”. One evening I decided it was time to assess the damage. The bathroom scales baldly informed me I weighed 10 kilograms more than the last time I had graced them with my presence.
The only good thing you can say about putting on 10 kilos is that it isn’t 20. But what to do? I hated dieting and didn’t have a lot of time to exercise. But help came when a colleague mentioned she was setting up a “Breaking Bad” weight loss group in the office.
I went along to their first meeting. It was encouraging. Healthy recipes were shared, practical tips provided (“If you think you’re hungry, have a glass of water and wait 10 minutes”) and nutrition strategies discussed.
But it was at the group’s 3rd or 4th meeting that a colleague, Wutee, uttered those magic words I started this story with. It was just the kick (sorry) I needed. I’d been thinking of taking up running for a while. I’d even bought some new running shoes. I just hadn’t got around to using them.
The first time we met, there were six of us, all women. We laced up and went out for a jog along Wellington’s waterfront. An easy 2K out and back again. It was fun, I thought. But, it seems, not for everyone. At the next meeting, there were just three of us. At the third, only two (me and Wutee). At the fourth, just me and Wutee again. And the fifth. And the sixth. We had indeed formed a running group, and the running group was the two of us.
As we ran, we talked about life, work, family, friends. The time passed quickly and I found I needed to stop for a break less and less often. We gradually increased the length of our runs. First 5K, then 6, then 7. Through it all, Wutee kept me going. She became my personal coach. She didn’t care how slow we ran, as long as we kept running. I later learned she had recently completed a half-marathon at a considerably faster pace than we maintained. She was running slowly for my sake.
The kilos started to come off. My running became more confident; more powerful. One day Wutee suggested I enter a 10K event. I did so and finished it in 1:06:26. Not bad for a first-timer.
Since then I’ve run a couple more 10K events, four half-marathons and my greatest achievement, the 30km Round the Island Road Race in Rarotonga. It took me 4 ½ hours, much longer than I’d hoped thanks to a faulty knee and a tropical rainstorm that left me soaked through as I dodged roadside puddles that were almost as large as lakes to get to the finish line. But I did it!
The best thing about running is not keeping your weight under control (although it achieves that quite nicely). It’s the inner strength you gain from knowing, as they say at Outward Bound, there’s always more in you. The best thing you can do on a run, funnily enough, is just let your body run. It knows how to do it. It really doesn’t need you – or more specifically, your mind – getting in the way. You quickly learn to assess each thought that comes into your head without necessarily acting on it.
“I’m tired.” Slow down a bit. Keep going.
“I’m hot.” Have some water. There’ll be some shade up ahead.
“I want to stop.” We will when we get to the finish line.
It doesn’t always go smoothly. I mentioned the bung knee in Rarotonga. It had been coming for a while; I noticed my right knee starting to weaken a few weeks out from the race. I cut back the Ks, hoped it would come right. It didn’t. After the event, I enlisted the help of a running coach. Her first question: “How do you warm up?” Answer: “I don’t.” I now have a five-minute routine, including calf raises, lunges and back twists that I go through before every run. The knee trouble has disappeared.
A strong pair of running legs translate into confidence, focus and, best of all, joy, as you traverse the inevitable stresses and strains of life. I think of it as a secret weapon. Some people say you never see a happy runner pounding the streets. But I’m yet to meet a runner who isn’t fun to be around. Some runs are joyful. Some are not. But the post-run “runner’s high” is a very real thing. It’s always there and it can last for days.
I mostly run in the mornings. It’s never easy. I never want to get out of bed, never want to pull the gear on and hit the streets. But as a running friend says, “You’ll never regret going for a run.” And I never do. If I need a little extra motivation, I remember the words of The Grit Doctor, Ruth Field, in her pragmatic (some would say brutal) book, Run Fat Bitch Run! The GD’s advice for those who don’t want to go for a run can be boiled down into one simple sentence: Get your fat arse out of bed/off the couch and go for a run! I find it also works on hills (“Get your fat arse up that hill!”). It’s not very politically correct, but it’s funny and it works.
I’ve never been a fast runner. I’m a plodder. I’ve always had the attitude that it’s better to run a bit slower and enjoy an event, rather than put unnecessary pressure on myself. Lately that’s been translating into replacing some of my runs with brisk walks. I’m OK with that. Better to walk than do nothing at all.
Some people say running is boring. Sometimes it is. It can also be uncomfortable, confronting, humiliating. My legs feel like lead ... I can’t believe I’ve only run 5K .... Look at all those people passing me! But running builds both physical and mental strength; it’s the best anti-depressant I know. Whenever I feel my mood going downhill, I know it’s time for a run. And the worst mood swings always seem to arrive when it’s been longer-than-usual between running sessions. Coincidence? I think not.
Wutee and I no longer run together (we work and live in different places) but that’s OK. I enjoy the solitary experience of running alone. I listen to music or the sounds of nature around me. But I’ll always be grateful to her for starting me on the road to something that is so good for my mind, body and soul. And I no longer need a group to motivate me; the benefits I gain from running are motivation enough.
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