As I shared before, growing up I participated in just about every sport that was available in my home town. I also liked playing with my friends and even tried sports that weren’t necessarily “organized” in any way. I participated in three main sport as a high schooler: swimming, basketball and track and field. Basketball and track were really my favorites! When I became a college athlete, I was still a “multi-sport” athlete, just not in the conventional sense. I was no Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, but I did take weight lifting very seriously and we also did a lot of running to compliment the hours we spent in the water. This kind of running was very different than the kind of running I did as a track athlete. And man, did I hate it.
My memories/nightmares of running in college consist of torturous 4 mile runs in 100+ degree weather on the hot streets of Tucson in the middle of the afternoon. It was so hot, with so little humidity, that your sweat would instantly dry into a white film on your face and body. Sometimes I could swear my feet would spontaneously combust. To top it off, I was usually last or “DFL” as some people like to say. We also participated in a “fun” thing called the Biathlon. We would swim a 2000 and then get out and run 4 miles around the University of Arizona Mall. One year I was the third girl out of the water! Not too shabby for a sprinter! But I was literally the last person to cross the finish line. It’s a bit of drag to not only have everyone pass you but I didn’t really enjoy the pity claps either. What can I say? I’m not a good runner.
Now, if you say to yourself that you’re not a good runner, you absolutely will not be a good runner. I’ve been saying that for a very long time. And it’s totally fine to say you’re not a good runner when you’re a Crossfitter because you don’t do a ton of running. However, our box does a great job of making sure we are “cardiovascularly” well rounded. You know what that means? Running.
Even thought I do not consider myself a runner, I am pushing myself. I have augmented my regular Crossfit workouts by adding a challenge and what good is a challenge if it doesn’t get you outside your comfort zone? I’ve decided to sign up for a Half Marathon. To anyone who knows me…I’m sorry I didn’t prepare you properly for that statement and I apologize if you hurt yourself when you fainted! Yes, you read that correctly. I’m choosing to purposely run 13.1 miles for no other reason but to see if I can. I’ve added running to my workouts and it’s been going really well. To help me prepare, I downloaded the app “RunKeeper”. (Not getting paid to write that…just sharing) and just this past Sunday I ran the farthest I’ve ever run. I ran 6 miles in just over an hour. (I took my dog so there were a couple stops 😉 but I am so proud of myself). Every mile I ran a quicker pace (until the last mile) but I know what I’m capable of, now. Since I have slowly been adding miles and we have still been running during our wods, I wasn’t even sore. I do want to add that Monday’s wod, which had wall balls, had me feeling my quads pretty good, though. Sharing these results is a bit intimidating, not gonna lie (you think my splits are slow or maybe 6 miles doesn’t seem far to some reader), but I think that we all have times where we doubt ourselves or we spend too much time comparing our best with someone else’s best. The focus for me is to push myself and measure myself against the Crissy who didn’t like running.
My running buddy, Dutchie.
I didn’t really have a great week last week. Charlie was traveling, we were busy with family commitments, I have a ton of home projects that are piled up and are just waiting for me, etcetera. Sometimes you just want to stop moving. I barely dragged my sorry butt into the wod on Friday and what do ya know? I had a great workout that was topped off by completing a goal: a one armed handstand! Add to that my big run and I closed out my week on a high note. I guess there could be some morals to this entry: Challenge yourself. Don’t quit. Try something new. Run with your dog because it’s more fun. 😉
Maybe it’s just best that I keep putting one foot in front of the other…you know, just to see how things work out! Here’s to a new week! Let me know if you’re out there crushin’ goals or if you just can’t believe I’m running a Half Marathon! I’d love to hear from you!
Feature image: Patrick Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004)