the blog about just starting (running edition)
We are taking a sharp turn from the previous blog (s) to explore more about the other little things in life. The little things are the big things” and for today - the little thing we’re talking about is to just start (running).
Let’ me backup. Exercise and me have always had a complicated relationship. It’s inextricably linked to the topic of body image, desirability and worthiness for me. It’s tied to my relationship with food. Exercise = good, food = bad. If I’m good (exercise) then I can atone for being bad (consuming food). Warped, not a healthy perspective, but my long-held beliefs all the same.
My family has always been athletic and performance driven: from 100+ mile bike rides/ day on two week biking trips before I turned 12 to competing in every possible sport in middle school (with the exception of basketball for a reason I do not know anymore) to becoming a Triathlete in high-school/college - I’ve experience a wide range of exercise options. Some I loved, most I loathed. (Why is it we keep doing the things we loathe?)
Running was something I loathed the MOST and yet have simultaneously WANTED desperately to love it. All of the men in my family (father, brothers) are exceptional runners- triathletes and marathoners. Me? Not so much. I’ve wanted to be one of those people you see, getting up while it’s still dark to “get a couple miles in before the kids wake up” or say they run everyday because “it’s so meditative- I can’t live without it!” or when asked about a fun-fact at a work-function, be able to say “I’ve run the Boston Marathon” (or something else cooler than me reminding everyone yet again that I’m fluent in German. Ja, ve geeht eeet you are zo kool because you speek anoza language. - More on the German stuff in a future blog).
Anyway, as I grew up my interest in exercise shifted and became something more for me to explore for me vs to compete in or do something my family loved. During the pandemic, I joined the Peloton crew, dutifully cycling hundreds of miles in my living room (and doing those Face-Time style calls on the Pelton during the ride so my friends and I could feel like we were “riding” together. Though honestly it was mostly just them having to listen to my awkward heavy breathing if the music wasn’t loud enough.) I started working with a trainer and lifting weights in addition to the Peloton. I got strong and pretty fit! And then…I got pregnant. I bet you think you know where I’m going with this…buuuut I actually didn’t gain that much weight during pregnancy. I kept up my Peloton and my lifting until about 32 weeks (8 months for those who are less familiar). Coincidentally, my trainer moved out of state around this time too. But THEN came the postpartum period…this is when I gained the weight. Not an exorbitant amount, but an amount that I didn’t feel my best about and I wasn’t comfortable in the body I was inhabiting. So I looked for a trainer who was familiar with postpartum bodies and able to train someone who was still nursing.
I’ve been working with her for about 2 years now (shout out to Moxie Barbell!) and we’ve made some real progress towards my goals together. One area I continued to struggle with, especially with a toddler, was getting the time and motivation for cardio workouts that I had pre-baby.
Pre-baby workout week: 5x week 45 min+ cardio, 3-4x/week 60+ mins weight lifting with my trainer at a gym, maybe a fun hike on the weekend
Post-baby goals: 10K steps/day, 3x 45-60 mins lifting on my own (with Moxie Barbell’s amazing workouts she programs for me in her app), cardio 1x/week and (occasionally) remembering to drink water.
Now, these are the GOALS - as I’ve said to her “I’m consistently inconsistent” Some weeks I hit all of that, but most weeks, I hit only some.
Moxie Barbell has excellent advice for me to “just start” and “something, no matter how small, is better than nothing, always!” That means, 1000 steps per day is better than zero. No it’s not 10,000 but it’s more than nothing! As a Type-A, perfectionist, high-achiever, I have very black/white thinking. I’m all in or all out. So living in this “grey” or being proud of myself for a 20 min walk instead of sitting on the couch is hard. I’m either amazing or a failure. It’s hard for me to live in the in-between.
One big thing for me is eliminating the “barrier to entry” to keep up my motivation- it sounds silly but something as simple as turning on my Peloton, deciding which ride to do, selecting the workout, putting on the clip shoes, getting water bottle, was a barrier,so I’d skip it. I needed something new. Running seemed to come with lower barrier to entry - all you need is your shoes and the open road. So I decided to try out running once again and find out if the loathing could indeed start to turn to if not love at least something neutral in between the two. (Living in the grey!)
Now I knew I couldn’t just “start running” and magically love it. I’d torn my meniscus and ACL several years ago and running often made my knee ache. So I’d have to start slow:
I decided to sign up for the “She is Beautiful” 5K in Santa Cruz, CA Mother’s Day Weekend this year. Inclusive, fun and positive plus very mom-forward. Perfect, I’ve got a goal!
I downloaded the Runna app and humbly signed myself up for the “New to Running” plan in February this year. That seemed like enough time to get prepped and ready to go for a May race.
I got some good running shoes, a running belt (to hold my phone) and then…I just started.
I didn’t do anything big or monumental. Just put on my running shoes, turned up good music and listened to the directions from the robotic Runna lady on the app.
Week 1 was 5 min walking warm up, 2 mins running and 1.5 mins walking (repeated a few times).
Week 4 was 5 min walking warm up, 5 min running at conversational pace, 1 min walking (repeated a few times)
Now, at Week 7, the week before my race it’s 0.6 miles warm-up running at conversational pace, 2 min walking rest 0.6 sprint, 2 min rest (repeated several times)...
In a few short weeks I’ve gone from not running at all to being able to sprint 0.6 miles over and over again. Last night, I did my workout at 9:42 p.m.! if you had EVER told me that I would be HAPPILY running through my neighborhood late at night to prep for a 5K…even 5 months ago I wouldn’t have believed you.
Now I’m a few days away from the race and excited. My goal? To run without stopping. No time goal, no pace goal, just keep it pushing the whole time.
The old adage “the journey of 1000 miles beings with one step” is so cheesily true. This is not the story of how I’m now some super fit amazing athlete, nor is it a story about how I want to run the Boston Marathon (I do not). It is a simple a story of taking a small action to make progress to a goal that I’ve set out for myself. And for that, I am very proud.
I will keep you all posted on my race!
In the meantime, my actionable takeaway for you is this: JUST START. Whatever it is. Make that phone call to book the appointment. Sign up for the night-class. Schedule time to go to the gym on your calendar. Take whatever the first action is (even if it’s the pre-action to the pre-action to the pre-action to the actual action) towards the goal you want to achieve and see what happens, one step at a time.
BTW- I just looked in my Runna app (didn’t even know you could do this) - I’ve run 34 miles since I’ve started! That is 34 more miles than I ever would’ve thought I’d run.
JUST. START.
See you next week!
P.S. None of this is sponsored, these are just real people and products that I like. Not endorsing them for you just saying they worked for me!
