When I was 45 I trained for my first (and only) marathon and monthly massages were my little secret weapon. The masseuse was a runner as well and well-versed in anatomy, so if she felt something a little off with my body she would mention it. As an example, my left leg had been sore and she suggested I run in the middle of the road when possible to avoid the slight downslope of the country roads I was running. It was a duh! moment in retrospect.
At that time I had run in many races including several half-marathons, but never the full 26.2. I trained in the hills of west Sonoma County where I lived, so running the San Jose Marathon on level land was relatively easy.
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Something happened in the years that followed and it happened gradually. I started running right out of high-school and loved it. Somehow that love was waning as, interestingly enough, my basic enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong I have always been a happy person-full of energy and optimism. I had opened my cooking school, which I loved, my family was great, and I was working on my master’s degree in nutrition. Something was off though, and to cut to the chase, my marriage was fading, as was my zest. Fast forward to 2008 when divorce prevented me from having the ability to place one foot in front of the other other than a shuffle. Shuffles turned into walking and walking turned into hiking and an occasional jog, but running was gone from my life after all those years.
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I guess running was not going to be part of my life and that was fine because I love to walk (and my pace is faster than many people’s jog) and hike and ride my bike. Until Friday when my daughter asked me if I wanted a massage. Something in my psyche was stirring from a long winter’s nap.
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Last night I dreamt of running and this morning, my doggie pal Wilma and I headed out for our morning walk that turned into a morning jog. Not far, but a jog it was….We’ll see what happens
My current running equipment:
Old tennis shoes, old Vibram 5-Fingers, my I-Phone to listen to music (although I don’t often), the app Strava to keep track of my progress and Evernote for journaling.
