I am a Runner Because…

I used to feel timid about claiming that I am a runner – Runner?  Who me?  Well, I enjoy jogging sometimes. 

I would feel even stranger when someone referred to me as an athlete – An athlete is someone who gets a scholarship to college!  I’m not an athlete!  I don’t belong in the roped-off  “Athletes Only” section of this race.  People will be like “Who does she think she is?!”

I absolutely believe that this negative thinking is part of what held me back from running all these years.  I signed up for my first marathon on a total whim!  I would never have consciously thought out to do one because I believed “real runners” signed up for marathons and half-marathons, and I was not in the “real runner” category.

But now, almost a year and a half after I signed up for my first marathon, I will giddily tell total strangers “I am a runner!” as if I were getting married or having my first baby.

What changed?  Well, naturally you would think that maybe it was logging almost 80 miles a week during training or qualifying for Boston or maybe completing a sub-three-hours marathon on a sprained ankle that gave me the courage to confidently claim from the mountaintops that I am a runner, but I realize that it is so much more than that. 

The first Lululemon shirt I ever bought had cute, little sayings printed on the inside seam like “Life is too short for the treadmill,” but my favorite has always been “I am a runner because I run.”  I love the quote because there are no justifications or qualifications necessary to be a runner.  It’s like the old joke about what do you call the kid that graduates last in his med school class – Doctor.  Well, the person who finishes last in a race is still every bit a runner as the person who comes in first.

While I still love and can identify with the Lululemon quote, I now find myself at a time when I cannot run – After running the Marine Corps Marathon on a sprained ankle, I am doing well to limp a bit around my house without a crutch.  Which begs the question – If I am not running, am I still a runner?  You bet!

Last Friday night, I hobbled into the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center on one crutch prepared to swim some laps.  The attendant at the front desk inquired if I came to the center often.  I’m not sure if it was a pick-up line or if he was curious if I was going to gush “Oh no!  I just started coming in hopes to see Ryan Lochte after I found out he was training here!”  However, my response was “No, I’m actually a runner!  But I can’t run because I have a sprained ankle.” 

The attendant then asked if I was going to do water running.  The truth was that I had read about aqua jogging and was aware of the benefits, but I honestly had no idea how to do it!   It was something that I had planned to research more before Boston training.  So, I swallowed my pride and told the guy that I was clueless, and about five minutes later I found myself with a buoyancy belt strapped around my waist and my legs turning over in their old, familiar stride as I glided through the water.

Because my feet did not touch the bottom of the pool, there was no impact on my sprained ankle.  The buoyancy belt kept my head dry as I stood tall while running.  Even though I was not swimming, I would make some slow progress down my lane.  It took about two minutes to go from one end of the pool to the other while maintaining an easy pace. 

That first night that I returned to running at the aquatic center, I kept my pace slow and easy, but during my second weekend run on Sunday afternoon, I found that the pool is a great place to do a fartlek run.  I played around with increasing my pace just until I got to the end of the pool or from backstroke flags to backstroke flags.

I have no doubts that learning how to deep-water run this past weekend will help me to maintain fitness and recover more quickly from my injury.  But perhaps more important, aqua running has allowed me to return to something that I love and that I thought I was unable to do. 

I am a runner for many reasons, but primarily, I am a runner because I love running, even when I can’t get out there and hit the pavement.  And even though it took me a while, I am so thankful that I eventually pushed past my comfort zone and started down a path that has taken me to the runner I am today and hopefully will take me further to the runner that I will become tomorrow.  I have realized that it is ok to not be the fastest in your age group or have all the knowledge of a seasoned marathoner….Runners are a good pack of people are there are plenty of them out there who are more than happy to pace you to the finish line or put you in a buoyancy belt at the aquatic center.

Weekly Miles:  None!  (But two hours of pool running)

This Week’s Beer Choice:  Palmetto Pale Ale  (Yup!  A repeat – I went on another Charleston beer run)