Hello and welcome to National Blog Posting Month 2021! I’m linking up with San to publish 30 blog posts in 30 days, starting today. Since this is a running blog, I thought the perfect first post for NaBloPoMo would be the story of how I fell in love with running.
We have to go way back… back to the track in the basement of my high school, and freshman year PE. One of the many cruel tortures we endured was running “the mile.” The track was 1/10 of a mile around, so we ran it ten times… or at least, that was the idea.
Two problems here: I was not especially athletic, and was also a rebellious teenager. I resented being forced to run, and furthermore resented having to take PE every day (we had PE every single school day, five days a week, K-12. No getting out of it- it was an Illinois state law.) Since our track was in the basement, there were posts going from the floor to the ceiling, and I- and my lazy rebellious friends- would hide behind the posts and wait for the rest of the class to lap us, then join in as if we had been running all along. Yes, I was a “mile cheater.”
But this doesn’t mean I was opposed to exercise- on the contrary, I was fanatically doing Jane Fonda- type workouts in my bedroom all the time. My motivation for this is that I hated my body. I was hoping the leg lifts would slim my chunky legs, the glute bridges would fix my fat butt, and the crunches would get rid of my ugly stomach bulge. You must be thinking- wow, this girl was a mess. Yes- here’s a picture of my ‘horrible” teenage body.
I know. I was a totally normal person! When I look at these old pictures, I could just cry. I wasted so much time obsessing over how my body looked, and so much energy being self conscious about it.
Meanwhile PE was not going well. I was cutting class and the teachers hated me. To be fair, I was cutting other classes as well, but for some reason PE attendance was insanely strict. I narrowly missed having to take PE in summer school (screeaaam!) by going to after-school PE makeup classes. It was a nightmare.
Then something good actually happened.
Senior year I had the opportunity to take a special PE class for people who- for whatever reason-had trouble functioning in regular PE. It was called PE 7S-8S, and the “S” actually stood for “special.”
The idea of this class is that everyone could-within reason- do whatever they wanted. A few of the boys opted to lift weights, some people played ping pong, but most people walked slowly around the track to fulfill their PE requirement. The other people in the class slightly resembled the cast of a Fellini movie, and the first day I sat next to the only person I knew, a boy I had been friends with slightly in middle school.
We got to talking and it turned out we were both curious about running. We figured we were there, the track was there, and now that no one was forcing us to do it, why not finally run that mile we fought so hard against as freshmen?
I can’t actually remember if we had to build up to it, or if we just did it, but before long we were running a mile every day. Then someone pointed out that we probably had time to run two miles during that class period, so we did that. I went from a class-cutting, PE-hating, mile cheater, to voluntarily running two miles every single school day. AND I LOVED IT.
I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, but it was the first glimpse into a life where I didn’t hate my body. I had brief moments where I was focused more on what my body could do as opposed to my appearance. I was hungry after running, so I started eating lunch (instead of fasting all day which had been my norm.) It was the first time I actually exercised because it felt good, rather than as a means to correct all my horrible flaws.
Of course, that’s not to say it was the immediate end of all my issues. It was the start of a process that would take many, many years. Without running I don’t think I would have been able to start that process at all. So funny that the awful track in the basement of my high school, and the PE class that was the bane of my existence for three years, would actually be the catalyst for this incredible transformation. (Side note- I actually got a commendation in PE that year. I don’t think I ever got a commendation in any other class during high school. The irony!)
When that school year ended, I went on to increase my distance, eventually running races and marathons. I’ve literally been running ever since that senior year of high school- barring time off for injuries, during which I was just waiting to get back to running again.
I’ve had a lot of ups and downs through the years, but I’ll never, ever give up on running. I’ve come a long way since those insecure teenage days, and I could probably survive without running now- but I don’t want to. Nothing else takes me out of my head and into the enjoyment of my physical body like running. I guess that would be the long-winded answer to the question: Why do you run?
Do you call yourself a “runner?” Why do you run?
17 Responses
Oh hello there fellow NaBloPoMo-friend. To answer your question, I am not a runner. I hate runner anything longer than 400 meters. That said, I loved your story. Very inspiring. Isn’t it amazing that something you “need” to do makes us hate so very much but we are actually liking it when not a requirement? School is really strange this way. I hated math with a passion, now I actually like doing monitoring and analyzing things for work. I am looking forward following your NaBloPoMo journey.
Thank you Tobia! You are the first commenter of NaBloPoMo! I agree that school is strange in many ways… I hated math with a passion as well, but unlike you I still don’t like it. At least I was consistent there 🙂
Oh wow, Jenny, what a story… I wish my running journey would go that far back. That’s really inspiring (and btw, yes, you were absolutely a normal person – look at that beautiful photo of your younger self!).
I was a team sports player growing up and running was part of the warm-up process, but I never just ran for the sake of running… well, as you already know, that changed because now I would definitely call myself a runner (which I didn’t think I could for many years).
P.S. I love that you’re joining me and others for NaBloPoMo. This will be so much fun 🙂
You know, I think another reason I got into running was that I really wasn’t athletic enough to play on a sports team- but almost anyone can run. You don’t need a special talent.
Yes! NaBloPoMo! I’m psyched.
A beautiful story. You are an inspiration for the runners.
I didn’t like to run but, when I didn’t play rugby anymore because I started my career in the Coast Guard, I made the decision to try this new sport.
Now running is part of my life.
A runner? I was a runner ……
You are a runner!!! Not only do you run, but you have a running blog. That’s true dedication.
I broke my leg pretty spectacularly about a decade ago. My range of motion on that leg is problematic, but I spent last winter really working on building strength in my “bad” leg. Then I worked through a Couch to 5K program over the summer, running once or twice a week. I’ve built up my endurance so I’m regularly running three miles about once a week. I’m realllllly slow, but it’s nice to know my body is resilient and I can run, even if it’s not a perfectly built machine anymore. 🙂 I love the idea of a simple workout that really only requires good shoes and a sports bra and that’s why I wanted to add running to my workout routines. I probably only run once a week, but it’s great being outside and it makes me feel strong and grateful for what my body can do.
I love this story! It’s a perfect example of what running can do for you- if you’re willing to really try and give it a chance. Thanks for your comment!
Oh I wish so much that I could have gone to “special” PE! Our mile was outside and a group of us did the same thing of hiding behind outbuildings for a good part of our “mile”.
I didn’t start running until my mid 30’s. I did very intense cardio but always drew the line at running because it was “hard”. When I lost my job in the Great Recession I gave up my gym membership, and I just couldn’t find a way to get a good cardio intensity so finally one day I decided to try to run a mile just to see if I could do it. I was able to get my cardio fix for free and I just loved it.
Ah! So we can look back and say the recession had a silver lining. Maybe if you had been able to take “special” PE you would have gotten into running earlier.
I had no idea there was a month for this! What a great idea!
I love your story. It’s always so cool to see how people get their start doing the things they do.
I actually had no idea either until a couple weeks ago! Yes, I also like hearing people’s stories- especially how they got into running. So many different reasons.
Great story, Jenny!
I think there are millions of young girls out there who feel the same about their bodies right now like you used to. Such a shame! I wonder if that will ever change.
I got into running because it was something that I seemed to be better at than my classmates. It then disappeared from my life when I was 16 and made its reappearance again when I was 35. Running is my therapy – it frees my mind and body. 🙂
Yes, running is therapy for sure. Interesting that you had an almost 20 year break, and then came back to it.
I really don’t know what the solution is to the body image problem. I’ve been SO CAREFUL with my daughter, in the way I talk about my body, her body, food, etc. etc. but she’s still going through it. It’s hard for me to watch.
Thanks for sharing.
I didn’t get into running until age 55. My two tennis friends had to talk me into it. But it was love at first step. So much that I quit tennis.
Yes I called myself a runner after my first race. It’s really why I run.
That’s funny- your tennis friends talked you into running, and then you loved it so much you quit tennis. Yes, there’s nothing like running!