Run Lola Run

When I was younger, I used to see people on TV rock-climbing, rowing, marathoning, trekking, and wonder why the hell would someone go through that kind of suffering. I could see on their faces the pain. People fainting, throwing up, hurting themselves, for what? A medal? It looked so stupid back then. I just couldn’t understand. At all. But this changed a bit a couple of weeks ago.

It was January and, of course, following the cultural habit of setting New Year’s resolutions I came again with the super-groundbreaking-incredible-new idea of exercising more. Again. Seriously? Yes. (I know that at this point all my friends will be laughing because they know that this is one of my biggest recurrent resolutions. Every year. Diet. Exercise. Blah blah blah.)

Anyway, this time the difference was that I set up a goal to myself. A real goal. Not the get-back-in-my-jeans kind of goal. A goal with an agenda and a deadline. A marathon. Why not? (I know you are all seriously laughing out loud now. A lot.)

Ok. Not a full marathon, a half one. 13.1 miles – or 21.09 km to my Brazilian friends. For me, who am a totally lazy-ass kind of person, it is a lot. It is a goddamn lot.

So what is the first step of a bookworm person who decides to try the athlete kind of life? Buying a book, of course! After reading a couple of reviews at Amazon, I decided to go for the Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer, from David A. Whitsett, Tanjala Koe and Forrest Dolgener, based on a marathon study made by the University of Northern Iowa. 

I will tell more about the book and the training some other day or this post will be massively long and boring, but making long story short, the book was really good – you read one chapter per week to follow the training, so it is not time consuming at all. I have just finished the 3^rd week of my training (16 weeks total) and I have to be honest saying that this is one of the coolest things I have ever decided to do.

I know this sounds like any of my dozens of previous life changing (-but not-) resolutions but this time there is one factor that is different. The feeling of accomplishment is much more intense.

I will not lie saying that the time I am running is the most pleasurable and enjoyable hour of my life because that would be a total bullshit. Because it hurts. Because when is 6 degrees outside, the wind feels like a thousand hands slapping your face. Because you think is never going to be over. And again, it hurts. It hurts a lot. But I cannot even start to describe the feeling of finishing it. It makes it all worthwhile. It makes all the pain and suffering so small and ephemeral that you want to do it again. And again. And again. And when you close your eyes in bed at night, you remember that feeling of the run and really miss it.

It is crazy. It sounds crazy and it really is. Today was my first 11 km (every week I have to increase one mile on my final distance) and oh god, how good I felt in the end. Funny fact: I had to jump a stupid fence in the end of my route because there was a gate closing the road. Of course, not surprisingly for the uncoordinated and clumsy person that I am, I got stuck and ruined my completely new awesome leggings – which now have a massive hole in the back (first time using it, blergh).

Today's route by Nike Running app and the living proof of my lack of ability to jump.

I also hated running for pretty much my entire life like most of normal people do. However, the feeling of overcoming myself physically is addictive. The tiredness and ache become bearable because they are the most obvious proof that you are exceeding your limits and going further than you would ever thought you could. 

Now I understand.

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P.S.: For you that got this far in my text, thanks a lot. Sorry for the hundreds of English mistakes – and feel free to correct me, please! – but I refuse to spend hours and hours in just one post. I know that if I do, I will stop blogging in less than a week. I will talk more about my training on further posts and also about other things I may find myself interested in.