Running has been in my life for a long while now. I have encountered nay-sayers and developed both fun and funny memories. I’ve gained strength and confidence; I’ve had it shattered. I have amazing stories with friends, places, and memories.
I thought of joining the high school cross country team – but the pull of soccer won and I was the boys’ soccer team manager throughout high school.
I have a diary entry from the first time I ran the road I lived on. LaFollette Road, named after Fighting Bob LaFollette, is about 1 to 1 ½ miles long and consists of 3 very steep and difficult hills. I remember the sense of accomplishment after running it without stopping the first time.
I remember a time when I was home and ran the Norsk run in Mount Horeb. I had done it before, but that time I was SLOW. I am pretty sure I was one of the last people on the course. I started to doubt myself and then I realized something that has stuck with me since. I was out running. I was doing a race and being healthy. I was doing all that and there were very few people who had entered and were running. So then, instead of doubting myself, I was proud of what I was doing, even if I was doing it very slowly!
In college, when I started ROTC, the fact that I was not a fast runner was definitely highlighted. On the “Ranger Challenge” team, I was the slowest. I did learn that I never quit though!
There was the time I told a supervisor I was training for a marathon. He told me, “but you don’t have a runner’s body!” I think he might have followed that with good luck or something, but I don’t recall anything after the initial statement.
When I did go run said marathon, a person helping cheer along the way kindly asked around mile 17 if I had walked the whole race. I was shocked as I replied, “I AM running!”
A few years later, my friend Bobbie and I entered the OKC marathon relay competition in the military/fire/police category as I was military and she was a military spouse. We each ran a 13.1 mile leg and won a trophy for 3rd place!
We trained together for years, pushing little Kady (who is now in college!) in the stroller and taking turns pushing her up that horrible golf course hill on Fort Sill. …while collecting golf balls that didn’t stay on the range.
I like to joke about running around the block. I grew up in the country and currently (well not RIGHT now, but when I redeploy I will) live in the country in Oklahoma. Oklahoma country roads are a “country mile” so when I run around the block there, it’s a 4.5 mile course. In Wisconsin, they are windy roads so I ended up around 8 miles there if I remember correctly. In both places, the views are beautiful!
The country miles in Oklahoma make marathon training super easy, even if you aren’t carrying a mile tracker with you!
When I first moved to Oklahoma, I liked to run up Mt. Scott in the wildlife refuge. I may have been crazy? Now I enjoy walking it with derby teammates and our dogs. Mac and I worked up to interval sprints prior to her leaving for Basic Training, but I haven’t run the whole (1.75 mile) mountain road in ages!
When I first move anywhere, running is my adventure and how I get to know places. In Norway, the adventure was always beautiful. I would imagine that the struts on bridges were giant frames to the most beautiful landscape views a person could ever see. My niece Kamryn ran across one of those bridges with me when she was about 9 years old. It was great to be able to run with her and she was fast and did not give up.
After a Physical Training test last year, I had an NCO tell me I was fast. I was flabbergasted! Then I realized that not many officers near the end of their 20 year careers are still even able to run, so I’m thankful for that…
I distinctly remember the very first running steps I took after having a partially ruptured Achilles which resulted in a blood clot. I was on blood thinners for 6 months, crutches for 5, and couldn’t do any physical therapy while on the blood thinners. I was honestly worried I would never be able to work out or run or do any sports again. I bugged my physical therapist on every visit after I could start with questions on when I could run again. When he finally relented, I had strict instructions. Walk for 5 minutes and run for 1, which I could repeat up to three times on my first outing. I remember those first steps, being terrified I would feel my muscle rip and explode again – but it didn’t! It was the best three minute run of my life. After that, I slowly worked my way back up to a half marathon, training in Norway and running in Oklahoma City right after my move back to Fort Sill. I logged a personal worst time, but I was so happy to do it!
For my 40th birthday, my sweet derby teammate Half Pint decided to support my ridiculous decision to run a half marathon. The Tulsa marathon that year fell on my birthdate and I thought it was a great idea to run it. I’d been battling some pretty serious issues that some docs said were related to Lyme’s Disease and others said were not. My muscles would feel heavy and give up. My breathing was labored. I’d be ridiculously tired and could sleep 12-14 hours straight on a weekend, wake up for 4 hours and then fall back asleep for another 14 hours. But I trained. Slowly. And she stuck by me. There is no way I would have finished that race without her! That race was probably another personal worst, though I honestly don’t remember our time. I remember the cold, the tiredness, and the good times we had that weekend though, which made for a pretty great birthday. I’ve also vowed, as of right now, to not ever run a half marathon on my birthday again!
