Last night I attended the A Snails Pace Running Club (ASPRC) awards banquet. We had a good time, so many people attended, the banquet room was packed to capacity! The room was loud with every one's animated talking and laughing, the food was delicious, and all who attended were "dressed", not in running clothes, but nice clothes that we are unaccustomed to seeing each other in. A great end to a great year!
Reflecting over these past 10 months that I have been running, I realize that I have gained so much more than lung capacity and mileage. I have gained a family of friends. It has taken all these 10 months to remember so many names; actually, I am still working on that! One reason why I joined ASPRC was to make new friends; I am so glad to report that this is happening. This is a good group of friendly, loving people, I feel privileged to be a part of them! In fact, without these beautiful people, I would not have "stuck to it" and probably would have quit after a week or two. Over these months I have been welcomed, encouraged, educated, coached, supported, included, and loved by this wonderful group of people. A big "Thank you" to all my friends in ASPRC!
Now, back to the banquet, this was an "awards" banquet...what kind of award would I have earned this year? In my mind, nothing remarkable happened, I did not run my first marathon, my first Ultra, heck, I didn't even run in my first race! I merely survived these beginning stages of running. The big accomplishment seems to be that I am actually still running! I remember that first run on a cold February morning, Mike and I ran so slow for a half-an-hour and maybe ran a mile while huffing and puffing tremendously! I remember when we realized that our mentors that ran with us for those 30 minutes on Saturday mornings, were actually just warming up for their Saturday runs of, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 miles! Unthinkable! It's fun to think how now a Saturday run for us can be up to 7 miles (and climbing)!
I have learned that this "sport" is one of discipline. I had thought in the beginning that I would just run, but, nooooo, if you just run, injury will soon find you (especially if your journey begins in your 40's)! Therefore, one must learn to run at the right pace for you that day, one must leave a day in between running days to let the muscles heal, one must learn the correct stride (too big and you may tire easily and risk injury), not to mention the discipline of getting out of bed on Sat morning at 6am, running even when you don't "feel" like it, drinking the right amount of water, figuring out when to eat before a run, and last but not least, the discipline of keeping on running when you are fatigued.
So, my "award" that I received says, "In honor of outstanding performance, A Snail's Pace Running Club presents Yvonne Miller With this certificate of recognition for the achievement of: First Steps-Beginning the running journey. From 0 to 15 miles a week - 2010"
At first I thought this award was so silly, however, now that I think about it, it is pretty significant. I have changed the trajectory of my life this year through learning to run. Because of running I have gained; new friends, good memories, muscle, lung capacity, discipline, health, self-confidence, a love for running, the satisfaction of going out there and doing it, more energy, knowledge, and yes, I have gained mileage.....from 0 to 15 miles a week in 2010.
