Small Victories

Today, August 19th, is my daughter's first birthday. She's a toddler now, discovering her world, testing her limits, finding herself. She loves to sing, hoard as many spoons as she can hold (and usually hijacks the one I'm using), and she loves her brothers (but if they infringe upon her mommy time, they get a good whack in the head.)

                                                           Spoon Hijacker, a.k.a. Silly Peach

This day is a milestone for me, too. Though I can't say this has been a great year for personal growth, in July I made the (wise) decision to channel my frustration more constructively.

"I'm going to start running," I said to my husband out of the blue one day.

Smart man that he is, he didn't argue (for once), or complain when I said I needed new running shoes. The only sneakers I had were older than my first born and he's going into second grade.

When the shoebox arrived in the mail, the trim along the ankle was a little more pink than I remembered from the picture, but they fit perfectly and as an added bonus, I'll glow in the dark if I ever run at night.

I was, in terms of sportswear at least, "ready." I hit the road the next day and let's just say it hit me back. I did gymnastics and diving when I was younger, but that was a long time ago, and even in my prime, I shied away from endurance sports.

I was in denial, I guess. I may have lost my baby fat through nursing and self-neglect, but the road reminded me that I had the lung capacity of a teaspoon and the muscle tone of a 13-year-old computer nerd.

The first two weeks were rough. I would jog little more than a mile and couldn't WAIT for it to be over. I don't know when things changed for me, but I soon started noticing the New England Colonials and admiring the Berkshires (though I now and always will hate all the hills in my town) rather than chanting, "Am I there yet, am I there yet?"

I began looking at my times, trying to improve upon them. One mile runs became two mile runs, and then I decided I was (almost) ready for my first race. Eight weeks of training were recommended for new runners, but I decided to go for it with only six.

I did a few 5Ks for practice. My stamina was still lacking, so they were a challenge but not impossible. I pulled back the last few days–faster runs, shorter distances–and took the day off before the race.

Two days before my daughter’s birthday, I ran my first 5K in Bennington, VT. It was as much for her as it was for me. And I couldn't have asked for a better morning–sunny and cool.

After the cannon went off, the crowd took a while to disperse. I had to start off slow. But once we spread out, I started passing people. I maintained my race pace the whole way, and even though I wanted to finish strong, I didn't have a lot of extra oomph in me at the end. I still made good time, though, and finished with a personal best. Somehow I even managed to finish first in my age group and 14th overall for women. They even mentioned me in the Bennington Banner: 

For the women: Sarah Umphley took the 12-and-under group (22:26.39), Katie Lynch took the 13-15 group (27:08.97). O'Callaghan was first in the 16-19 group followed by teammate Shelby Whitman (23:06.26). Rebecca Beagle was first in the 20-29 group (24:29.94). Alicia was first in the 30-39 range (26:34.53), while Julie Hoar took the 40-49 group (23:10.13). Laurie George took the 50-59 group (28:26.48) and Patty Surdam won the 60-69 group in 49:08.01.

Last August, I was over-pregnant and could barely climb a flight of stairs. Now, a year later, I can declare this experience a small yet significant victory, and first thing this morning, I was back on the road.

True athletes have their reasons to stick with their sport whether it be good health or a sense of accomplishment. I run for those universal reasons, too, but also because running gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning that doesn't include taking care of other people. It's my only "me" time. And yes, there are days when I can't manage to get up at 6:30 in the morning, but on the days I can, it's worth it, and hopefully, more victories will follow...