Dreams of running

I've never been a runner. Never. I did sprinting in track in highschool, and before that I got into jumping and did what I could to specialize in triple jump -- requiring a minimal sprint before you flung yourself into a convoluted series of jumps (which of course meant that I spent every track practice sitting by the jump pit pondering the complexities of triple jump and watching the runners pass by).

I remember when I was living in CO, whenever things got too stressful or my emotions were too high for whatever reason, I just wished I were a runner because I felt like the only satisfactory release for my emotions would to go pounding the pavement for miles on end, till everything blurred into sweat, breathing, and the internal shock of each next step. I dreamed of it, but the reality was that I was pleased with myself if I managed to run more than 3 minutes at a time. (I used biking, hiking, or rollerblading as my stress-relief.) A friend who had noted that I was naturally athletic mocked me when I said I couldn't run until I reminded him of how pleased I was when I ran for the entire length of a Greenday song. Naturally athletic, perhaps. Runner? Never.

But living here, ages ago I posted about starting to go "wogging" with friends, a combination of walking and jogging. The reality was that probably the emphasis was on the walking... We did well, though, and that got the ball rolling I think. Our wogging group broke up as people left but I kept at it -- largely because it's really the main form of exercise available in this town. Slowly, because I'm a harsh task-mistress for myself, the wogging turned more and more into actual runs - generally anywhere from 2-3 miles, with walking built in, but I kept going. This March I finally got bold enough to be willing to go for a run with a "real" runner, Nina's fiancé Ross. And thus I met intervals in a serious fashion. Well, Ross and I have been doing interval training pretty faithfully every Saturday since then and I'll still go for one or two other runs during the week, and I think now I have to concede that I am becoming a runner. This Saturday the goal is the approximately 8-9 mile run from St Andrews to Guardbridge and back. Just to see if I can do it. I haven't run anything longer than 5 miles, so I'm just curious.

All this, though, has got me thinking. And that's a bad thing, because thinking leads to craziness. And the craziness is? The Aviemore Highland Half Marathon in October. Ross has decided to go for it with me, Amber and Paul have already done it once but are considering doing it again, Vicki's Ryan (who came for his first run with Ross and me this afternoon) might consider it... See? I shouldn't be allowed to get inspired to feats of insanity -- but at least I bring others along with me! Ross will be helping me proactively train for it - my goal has been simply stolen from Amber and Paul and is to hit under 2hours (approx 9min miles). Ross is aiming for something suicidal like 1:25 or something. I'll be somewhere way behind him.

But I'm planning to do it for charity - I just have to find out if I can choose my own charity or if it has to be theirs, but regardless I might as well do my self-torture for charity! I'll keep you all informed as I go...