There are moments in your life when you realize that something has fundamentally changed. Saturday morning, I had one of those moments. I was running. Up hill. By choice. And jogging along beside me was Cheryl Treworgy, world record setting marathon runner. Granted, she was in her gardening clothes and carrying her winter coat while I was counting steps and promising things I didn't even have to gods I don't believe in so I could reach the top. But I was there, running.
Such is the power of NOBO, a beginners training program that promises to help you complete a 5K race by the end of ten weeks. They don't promise you'll run it. They don't promise you'll love it. They promise that, following the program, you can complete it. The running it and loving it part comes later.
This is my second NOBO. I joined in the fall because after several years of being very ill, I got cranky. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and wanted to try something different. Running was the definition of what I could not do. It involved muscles that were damaged and body systems that didn't always function well. It was genuinely scary. But, I decided that if I even got through the workouts, I would have accomplished something.
So, I went to the informational meeting and met Natalie. Natalie is the planet's gift to coaching. She seemed to intuitively understand how large a leap some of us were taking – and she promised us we wouldn't be alone. She outlined the program structure and general plans. She introduced us to the mentors. They told their own stories of running and struggle and success. I listened and I tried really hard to believe all of them, right up until they talked about loving running. Surviving running? Using running as a tool? Absolutely. Loving running? Only real runners love running.
The first few weeks were, honestly, kind of awful. I don't know if it was my body or my brain, but I couldn't seem to find anything but failure. I couldn't last through the intervals. I was the last one back to the parking lot, week after week. Most weeks, I'd have a mentor hanging back with me while I sucked air and apologized for holding them up. To a person, they told me to hang on and it would get better. Lots of very bad words went through my head at these points. It Was Not Getting Better.
Week four was a horrible week. It was cold and rainy on the day we met at 6pm. Winter was approaching, so it was dark. We were running a route we'd run twice before. I'd yet to make it through the intervals. I don't know what happened. Somehow, on that very cold night with the rain in my eyes, I had fun. Oh, I didn't make all the intervals but I didn't have quite as much trouble. I was still the last one back, but I came in with a group. I was soaking wet and cold and shaky and somehow, it was more fun than I'd had in a long time.
Weeks six through ten were more of the same, struggle and challenge mixed in with the occasional burst of fun. I found some people to laugh with and some mentors who seemed to be able to get into my head and get me out of my ruts. I found that I was looking forward to the workouts and viewing those crazy morning runners with new eyes.
The day of the race was bitterly cold. I'd learned enough to know that once I got moving, I'd need to get rid of any extra layers, so I dressed lightly. It made the 45 minute wait to start feel like hours. The course was hard, with more hills than I expected. I walked a lot of it. Still, in the last quarter mile, I ran. I ran around the corner and saw my husband waving. I saw my son waiting by the finish line. One of the group mentors ran beside me towards the finish line.
It took me forty three minutes to run/walk 3.1 miles. Guess what? It was my personal best, my PR as the real runners say.
After that, deciding to enlist for another round of NOBO was easy. I know it will be very hard. I know I'll wonder what I was thinking when the easy interval is suddenly, inexplicably harder. But, I'll remember Saturday, when I got to run uphill next to one of the most impressive athletes of my era and I'll smile.
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