A Passion for Running

Well, thank you everyone for your contributions. What a lovely response! I’ve posted your words below in the order received. If you’ve arrived late to the party, please feel free to add your own “I remember when” statement.

And if you’ve come here as a beginner runner looking for some inspiration, you’ve come to the right place so pull up a chair, read the following passage and be sure to visit the contributors blogs for more good stuff!
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I remember when…

by Susan
I remember one day in my early running, wanting deperately to give it up. I always had before. That April day I summoned mental reserves, told myself I wasn?t a quitter, and walk/ran for 60 minutes. I have never looked back.

by Jack
I remember when I stepped on the scales Christmas morning 2002. Normally this is a time of celebration, feasting, eating, and enjoying life. But I was miserable?32kg/70lbs overweight?the tight pants, the tendency to avoid looking at mirrors, the feeling that I was a bus on a tight street!

I decided to do something about it! I knew from experience that dieting alone just doesn?t work for me, so I hit the road. I ran about 2 minutes and promptly puked. Discouraged I walked home and threw the running shoes in the closet. Through the course of the year I did manage to bring my weight down about 12kg/26lbs through dieting, walking, bicycling and gardening. But through the Christmas holidays the weight started to creep up again.

My big break came in February 2004 when I received an e-mail from the Work Council at work inviting employees to participate in a 8.9K (5.5M) run in our community the upcoming May. Now almost my whole department signed up for this and I eyed the list for several days until finally the guys talked me into it. Now I hadn?t run this far since the 1980?s when I was in the Army, so I knew I had work to do. I got back into my training, first running with walking breaks, then running straight through. I kept building up my running distance, eventually running up to 45 minutes without stopping.

As I lined up at the race that May I was petrified that I wouldn?t complete the distance, that I would embarrass myself in front of my whole department. But I finished, not in last place where I had anticipated passing out, but actually ahead of some of my colleagues with a finish time of 51:21!

The rest is history, inspired by my success I continued to run, losing almost 26kg/57lbs since 2002. I kept racing too, first a 10K, then several; a half-marathon, then several; my first marathon, and soon my second!

I still have some weight to lose, but I know that someday I will achieve this, because I remember when?

by Kel
I remember when I used to get though a pack of Camels a day, plus over a pack in one night on Fridays at the pub. I quit April 2004 after over 9 years of smoking. I really wanted to quit, but after taking part in a study at Goldsmiths that required me to quit smoking and remain smoke-free for 3 months, I started to lose a bit of will power now and then.

So I started running in July 2004. Joined my local running club in January. Now I am regularly competing in everything from 5K to halfs, and plan to compete in my first marathon before next summer. I?m even having a go at our club?s track and field competitions, 400m, 800m, shot put, hammer, and even pole vault! I love running, being active, and all the great friends I?ve made through my running club. I?ll never be great at running, but you don?t have to be good at it to enjoy it.

Oh, and the cigarretes? I can hardly even remember that old me. And I much prefer new me.

by Lara
I remember when I ran my first 5K race. I was really scared. I had never run with other people, I had never run up a hill, I had not yet even run more than 2.5 miles. I had signed up for a couple of 5K?s before and then just not shown up for them. By the time I finished that race I was hooked! It didn?t matter how slow I ran, it didn?t matter how far back in the pack I was. I was a runner, running with other runners – testing myself right alongside them, everybody cheering each other on. Now I sign up for nearly every race I can find!

by Karen
I remember when it took everything I had to run 2 minutes at a time. The last 30 seconds of each 2 minute run was sooo hard! and then only a month or so later I was running 20 minutes, 22 minutes, half an hour at at time, and I was astonished, proud, and elated to be able to do it. I remember how good it felt to be finally doing something dramatically healthy for myself, and it was so cool that I actually ENJOYED it.

by Adeel
I remember when I used to brag about running 4 km without stopping?for a year. I was also the slowest kid on a team of what had to be at least forty guys, though I think in one race I beat out a teammate who sprained his ankle while running.

Here I am five years later, and I?ve got a large blanket as a substitute for blinds.

by Warren
I remember when I started running on a treadmill at work, back before I had kids. I remember giving up running when the baby was born, and I remember the pain I?d been feeling in my shins.

I remember when, years later, I tried running again. I remember the intense pain in my shins, and how it persisted for months after I quit.

I remember when I made a new year?s resolution to run a marathon. I remember how recent my shin pain was, and how nervous I was that pain and injury would stand in my way.

I remember when I finished the marathon. That part I?ll never forget.

by Drew
I remember when I purchased and subsequently wore out my first pair of running shoes. I?d been walking/running for about three months in my regular tennis shoes. Didn?t want to lay out the money for running shoes and then not use them. I figured three months was long enough to justify the $$. I bought a pair of cheap Saucony shoes at a local sports outlet and couldn?t wait to use them. I dedicated them to running only and felt a little thrill every time I put them on feeling like I was ?suiting up? to go to battle.

I wore those until plantar fasciitis started to set in and the shoes began to squeak really loudly. Wearing those shoes out was a big step toward feeling like a real runner.

by Anne
I remember years ago when I was a young mother and military wife living in rural Alaska and couldn?t afford a treadmill or a gym membership, so during the long winters I ran for hours in a circle in my basement. One half in one direction; the other half, in reverse. Otherwise, my running shoes wore out within a few weeks, instead of months. It was the only time I?ve enjoyed running in circles.

by Dianna
I remember crossing the finish line of my first (and only, so far) half marathon and telling my husband that it was the hardest thing I had ever done?and that I would never, ever, in a million years, want to run a marathon. Double that distance. Lord, no!

And then I remember the look on his face, 6 months later, when I told him that I was about to start my marathon training. He was there at that finish line too. I still don?t consider anything past 26.2 miles too interesting to me (although I greatly admire those that run ultras).

Then again, after completing the triathlon this year, I swore I?d never want to do a FULL Ironman. Maybe just a Half IM. But not a FULL one. (there it is – in writing!)

by Russ
Remember this grasshopper! When you say ?Why would anyone do?.? You have already committed yourself, you just don?t know how soon! Startd ?88, first race ?89, first half ?92, first marathon, San Francisco, ?92 and on and on? Run Good!

by LouBob
I remember when I ran my very first mile! A simple thing maybe but a great start none the less!

by Dawn
Being this old, I have lots of ?I remember when? stories. Of course, being not quite that old, I still remember them but sometimes not as well. One of my favorites is actually blogged Way Back When. Its from when I remember I could actually run fast..lol. What I can?t remember is why the heck I took so many years off. Oh well, at least I?m back doing what I love and greatful I can do it no matter the speed.

by Jon
I remember when my shins hurt so bad that I used to whine about it all the time. Oh wait.

And I remember when I couldn?t run more than 5 minutes at a time, and heart felt like it was going to explode, and I was all red in the face, and the guy at the gym came over and asked me if I was ok. No, I?m not ok, I just started running.

by Karen
I remember when I arrived at my first race, a 10K, in 19F weather and said to my best friend, ?These people are nuts.? And then after crossing the finish line I quickly told him, ?I have to do that again!?

by SD
I was 22 years old, smoked at least a pack of Marbs every day and drank at least a pint of whiskey every night, with more of each on the weekends. Once around the track was enough to make me vomit and I had to rest after three flights of stairs. That was my low point in life. Today I did a 14 mile run and I feel great.

by David
I remember when, in the fall of 2002, I uttered the words that get you doing things you are afraid of. After just a couple of years running 5Ks I said to someone that I?d run a half marathon. I had no idea how to train and no idea what a long run, tempo run or anything else was. What a shock and amazing feeling it was to finish that race. Since then I have consistently run at faster paces and learned I can enjoy long runs with proper training and adventures in mental commitment.
I can foresee a day when the marathon won?t seem like such a stupid idea.

by Marie
In University I gained not only the freshman 10, but another 10 and another 10. I wanted desperately to lose the weight, so I registered for a 1/2 marathon, not really understanding how far 13.1 miles was. I bought a book with a training program in it, and trained on the treadmill of my local GoodLife Fitness centre. 6 months later, I was 30 lbs lighter and had successfully completed a 1/2 marathon – I?ve been running ever since!

by Chris
I remember when I first believed things could change. It was a young woman in a bookstore, a friend, and she was every bit a skeptic about weight loss as I. And when my wife and I spoke with her about her amazing 50 pounds of weight loss over the last several months, she was sheepish in admitting just how she accomplished the work. And that?s when I first believed things could change.

A little bit at a time, with one small adjustment building on the next, my wife and I adjusted our eating habits, exercised daily, and took on an entire lifestyle makeover. We lost a combined weight of 145 lbs in under a year, while eating more healthy food than we?d ever consumed in one setting.

And fitness? We started to challenge each other more and more. I ended up trying to run. I started with a walk-run program. My first 5K, I did with a 3-minutes-of-walking, 2-minutes-of-running setup. And it was golden.

Oh, and five months later, I ran a trail marathon.

I remember when I first believed I could help others realize the same results. And that?s where I am today.

by Beverly
I remember when I?d only run in the dark, literally, because I was too embarrassed to use ?I am? and ?a runner? in the same sentence. And I remember the actual first time I tried to run, and how the only thing that came close to feeling that difficult was labour and delivery. And then I remember looking at my 3 kids, and refusing to be unhealthy for them. Somewhere along the line it became as much about me as them.

During that very first kicked-my-butt run, I remember thinking, just take one step at a time. Hence my blog name, and something I need to remind myself of constantly.

by Rachel
I remember when I first said it out loud – ?I am going to run the half marathon in April. Anyone wanna run with me?? Complete silence at the table. Oh well, who needs ?em. I trained all winter, up until that point I had never run further than 3 miles. Through the cold days and some long, dull runs on the treadmill I stayed focused. The big day was finally here. I remember standing in the starting corral, alone with my thoughts and fears, and then I realized that even though I didn?t know the approximately 17,000 people standing around me we were all the same. We were runners with a common goal. The first few miles were very emotional for me, and the last few were a struggle. But I did it! I accomplished my goal and that very afternoon with throbbing feet I sat down at the computer and pulled up a list of all the upcoming races. I was hooked.

by Bill
I remember Officer Candidate School in Pensacola. After a week of ending up in the sweeper van during batallion runs and getting a little bit of ?Personal Training? from the class chief afterwards, I finally finished a run with the rest of the batallion.

10 weeks later, we became ?candidate officers?, exempt from formation runs. But I kept running. That was when I was a ?runner?.