Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Rediscovery

It's been about 5 years since I last thought about running. After my last arthroscopic scope in 2005, my knee doctor told me that running was not in my future. All because of a little tweaked knee when working at REI . Luckily I had a manager on duty file an accident report and L&I footed the bill. I thought it was humorous when I got a check in the mail for $1,500 for a "partial amputee" payment. But as time passed, and my relationship with running grew more distant - I started to resent that partial payment.

As a result, I've managed to avoid running. But I've always dreamed about it. Gone are the days of the half marathons, the trail runs, fun runs, St Paddy's Day Dash. I used to take my hour lunch break while working at Voicestream and tear it up with my buddy Keith through Bellingham's back roads in preparation for the running leg of Ski to Sea. My greatest moment as a runner - when I lost a toe nail from pounding my toes into the ends of my shoes posting a time of 51 minutes for 8 miles. And then there was the running portion of the first Women World Championship training back in Scranton, PA. I remember heading to the track with all of the ladies and being able to run my buns off. Running and boxing went hand in hand.

Fast forward to yesterday, when I went to Sound Mind and Body for the first time in 6 months. I've been using the free gym access at HSP to do my normal strength routine. And since I couldn't drag my butt out of bed fast enough to get into the gym, I decided to use SM&B since I was paying for it. The only problem - they don't have the same equipment as HSP. So I went to get on the vertical climbing machine - only to discover one of the two machines wasn't working and some lady was on the other one.

And that's when I rediscovered running.

I approached the treadmill, climbed aboard and then started a brisk walk. Then I gradually increased the pace, until I was jogging. No knee pain. Then I decided to go for 20 minutes. Why not increase my pace? And why not increase the distance? Next thing I know, I'm throwing shadow boxing into the mix and getting a taste of runners high.

Hello old friend. I missed you.

2 comments:

Wine Gidget said...

Love the running you are doing and you are picking it up as soon as I have to lay off...nice tag team:) Hope to see you soon! I would love to do some cooking with you!

HELL(cat) ON WHEELS said...

Ahhh yes, nothing like runner's high. I, too, lament that though I'm thoroughly enjoying my new found love for cycling... I miss the good sweat and high that I can't seem to get from anything other than a good sprint at the end of a long run. My fiance' loves to lecture me on "hurting my body" when I wistfully mention my running. He's afraid it will negatively affect my cycling. So, I must run in secret :)