Born to Run
Saturday, September 4, 2010 at 09:09PM All runners know the hardest part about running is starting again after you have stopped. The longer you stop, the harder it gets.
For me, it's been five years. Well, that's not completely true. I have tried a couple of times to start again after I stopped, but it never lasts. Either my knees or my will quit on me. I'm hoping that this time I can make it last. Maybe making my quest public will give me that extra motivation I've lacked before.
The first time you run after not running for a long time deceives you into thinking that it's going to be easier than it is. My run today reminded me of this when I hit the pavement and my legs felt like they were lead. You've got to persevere. You've got to keep telling yourself, it's going to get easier. And it did. I even passed a runner. Okay, this time it was a bow-legged elderly man. He looked to be about eighty. It was amazing that he could run at all. I only hope that I'm in that kind of shape when I'm his age.
I'd made it through the first run and a half before I heard footsteps at my back. This is always a bad sign. In the past, when I was running regularly, that sound kicked me into the next gear. I'm competitive. I can't stand being passed. This time, though, there was no extra gear.
The runner breezed by me with ease. He ran like a gazelle, easy, long strides. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as the distance between us grew. Ten yards. Twenty yards. Thirty. And then, suddenly, he turned around. He ran past me, as if to rub it in my face. He looked to be at least half my age. Once I ran like that. It pained me to think that no matter how far this quest goes, I'll never run like that again. Hopefully, I'll get stronger and faster. But I will never have what I once had.
And now? I just ache. All over. If we were born to run, it shouldn't hurt this much to do it.
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