Running 101

I have to keep reminding myself that I'm a beginning runner. I've always been tempted to skip ahead, too impatient to start at the beginning. The first time I skied I signed up for the "B" class. I saw what they were doing in the "A" class when we'd arrived. Put your skis on, step sideways up the hill, way too slow for me. Should I have been surprised then that the first thing we did in the "B" class was get right on the lift?

I am starting to notice a pattern of rushing ahead and pulling back at everything I try. An outside observer might have seen that it's not a great way to adopt a new anything.

I've been running on and off since last October. I did a 10k in January, mostly walking after overdoing my training and getting shin splints. Discouraged but still liking the idea of running, just shoes, an ipod and out the door. I started from the beginning in the summer following the couch to 5k program. It's slow but steady. Run 60 seconds, walk 2 minutes, progressing until nine weeks later you're running 30 minutes which is supposed to be "about" a 5k. I followed the whole program, no cheating or skipping ahead. I ran a 5k on November 8th - waiting until the pack left and started out slow...there were hills, really, there were. The clock showed 43 minutes when I crossed the finish line. Seems funny that I would choose an activity that sounds fast and do it so slowly.

On Monday I set out to run my 30 minutes and realized about half way through that I was restraining myself from running too fast. Concerned that I would run out of steam before the 30 min. had me slowing to barely a jog. It felt like driving with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. I was actually expending energy resisting my forward motion.

Why would anyone do that? I scanned my memories looking for places that it's happened before. Not simply a lack of discipline but an active resistance to forward motion. Where would I be or what could I have accomplished had I not been doing this? Irrelevant question, I know now, let's see what happens.