Mid-Winter Run

I was thinking today about how I've been a runner now for over six years. I ran a little with my dad when I was a kid, and then some in college with friends in both Tulsa and New Mexico. Those were short bursts of energy, though, and usually fell victim to time or indifference. Running didn't stick until I moved to Kansas City to start work and found myself with a lot of spare time due to my family still living in Oklahoma while we attempted to sell our house. Only then did I become a runner. It's amazing to look back and see how far I've come since that first run.

I'd been riding my bike regularly, throwing it in the back of my truck and heading out to a nice trail on the eastern side of the metro area. For some reason that escapes me, probably because I grew tired of driving over half an hour each way to the bike trail, I picked up a cheap pair of running shoes at Target one day. I still remember my first run from the hotel. I ran less than half a mile and felt like I was going to die. I walked a little bit and then turned around, jogging back sporadically to the hotel. I suppose it could have ended there, but I wanted to improve. I kept doing it every day, and that was when I became a runner.

I decided that an investment in real running shoes would pay off dividends for my feet and legs. I was right. I bought New Balance shoes and the experience was totally different from the $12 pair in which I'd been running. Even on weekends back in Oklahoma I would run. I had a lot of fits and starts in getting to more mileage. I'd get to the point of running four miles and then either get sick or get too involved with work. It took a long while before I increased the mileage. I remember running a 5k at the zoo, and then the next year they increased it to a four-mile race. Those four miles almost killed me. I kept wondering where the dang finish line was. Not learning my lesson, I graduated from those kinds of races straight to marathons.

These thoughts were going through my mind this morning on my 10-miler. The day was gray and cold, but the run was a good one. Ten miles doesn't seem like a long run to me now, but as I thought back to when I became a runner, ten miles is actually a long way from that first run near the hotel.