Runner's High

The dream started approximately 1 year ago. C and I saw a group of them running by the apartment, consistently on Tuesday nights. Then, a friend explained, “Jack Quinn’s has a running club on Tuesday nights – it’s a 5K, and after 5 runs, you get a shirt. Wanna do it with me?” Chyeah right, I hadn’t run in awhile and had only completed one 5K in my life and it was grueling. I wasn’t going to try to keep up with the skinny thing. “Mmmmm, I’ll probably need to do some training.” So, I avoided the run, although, joined her for the beer afterwards, and a couple of times, would holler and whoop for her from my balcony as she and her sister ran by. For a year I saw the runners and told myself someday…
I am proud to say that someday was this Tuesday. After time on the treadmill and out on Monument Creek, I was ready. Not fast, mind you, but ready. S and I did a trial jog on Saturday. Not too bad. The hill on Uintah is cruel, but aside from that, totally doable. Tuesday came with rain and thunder and perfect excuses to stay inside and on my butt. Instead, I dusted off a rain parka and laced up. S and I are not ashamed to use stimulants, so we stopped at Starbucks for an espresso on the way down to Jack's. The place was crowded and I'm sure I looked green non-runner, with fear in my eyes. Everyone had intense and expensive running gear, which made my cotton shorts seem infantile. S's friend joined us and we all took it slow and easy. The rain in the face was refreshing and exciting - such an extreme first time! I was most excited when I passed my aparment. I could see the old me peering over from the balcony at the new me running the trail. The celebration was at the city auditorium with lots of people and a whole running culture. I'm not sure where we came in but the point is we came in, we finished. Speed? That's for kids, I'm talking heart-healthy over here. My goal is to run the next 4 weeks to get a shirt and I like to think by the end of the summer, I might be up for something extreme, like a 1oK!