I have always been the girl that sits on the sidelines, watching, jealous and impressed as other people attempt challenging feats. I watch almost every event in the Olympics (yes...even shooting and biking) and imagine a different life in which I am athletic enough to succeed in sports. I admire people that push their physical limits and often create new challenges for themselves. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to challenging myself mentally. As a pre-med student, I push my intelligence to sometimes impossible lengths. However, I've never pushed my body to its limits before. I've been passively content to think of myself as the short, curvy, non-coordinated, non-athlete. During my small town childhood I tried almost every sport available to me, and only lasted a short time in each of them before admitting defeat. I did enjoy softball and swimming, however. I was a member on my local swim team for a few years in my elementary school days; definitely not long enough to compare myself to Michael or Missy, but I did enjoy it. I don't remember why I quit...probably because it interfered with softball, but even after I stopped swimming competitively, I kept swimming (infrequently, I admit) for exercise and fun. When I came to Ripon, I met my best friend, who happens to be a swimmer. Through her, I became very close to the swim team and was convinced to consider joining this season.
Last spring, when I was considering joining, I knew it was a long shot. I was out of shape and didn't feel that I would be up to the challenge, especially during the most challenging semester of my undergraduate studies. When I went home for the summer, I told my family and they doubted me, with good reason. I am sort of a "big talker." I like to say I'm going to accomplish something really cool, but I either lose determination or interest before I achieve success. I discovered, however, that my sister had a similar task in mind. She was interested in joining the cross country team. Sarah, who is more athletic than me by a mile (no pun intended...), is not what you'd call the running type. We are Galles...we don't run. But she trained, a lot and by the 4th of July she ran a 5K in our hilly town. She then began training with the cross country team, a group of kids who had been running their whole lives. Pessimistically, I figured she would quit within 2 weeks. But, she didn't! She made it through the whole season and plans to go out again next year.
So there it was...I couldn't use the excuse that I couldn't do it. My sister as my inspiration, I went to the first swim team meeting of the year with my friends from the team. I became determined to join. On October 1st, we started the season. About 2 hours of practice every afternoon, and 6 a.m. practices twice a week. This for a girl who didn't even do sports in high school?! I was nuts...and I probably still am nuts. But I'm also completely ADDICTED to swimming. You don't realize how it is possible to hate something so much but also love something so much at the same time until you join a sport like swimming. I started out in a rough place, not very good at all, and I'm still definitely not fast. But, I made it through the whole season! And, my times improved quite a bit. In three days we leave for conference, where I will don my new tech suit, and attempt to break my goal times I created for myself. This was my first hard thing, physically, and I accomplished it. *patting myself on the back as I type*
So, what does this have to do with running a half marathon? Well, there is a well known class offered at my school called the Half-Marathon class. It is offered as an exercise science credit, which is required and shockingly I still hadn't completed yet, but it is also mostly a psychology course. If you had asked me to take the class 6 months ago, I would have laughed in your face. However, at registration, I just found myself drawn to doing this new, challenging thing. I signed up for the class, and am now anticipating training for a 10k....yeah, I know, I'm not actually doing the half-marathon...baby steps, okay? So...very long story, very short, this is my story, in real time of me, the non-athletic D3 athlete attempting to train for a 10k. I've never run more than a mile before, and I have to run about 6 by the beginning of May. Can I do it? We'll see :)
Keep challenging yourself,
Anna
