Runner Insight

Do What Ya Gotta Do 

Last year I ran in a little 4 mile race that took place in an area of town I am not as familiar with.  The Missoula Roots Run is in conjunction with the Missoula Roots Festival:  lots of live music, arts and crafts and plenty of food!  Having lived in Missoula all my life, I knew the area but had not run in this particular part of town since the mid-90’s.  So while I “knew” where I was, I was still a little bit nervous about running this race and staying on the race route. 

The race started at 11 a.m. which I thought was kind of a late start for the end of August.  But as it turned out, it was quite pleasant: not too hot yet with blue, sunny skies.  

The time was getting close to the start of the race, so T positioned me somewhere in the middle of the group of runners off to the right side.  

We were waiting for the bang of the start gun to go off when Anders, the owner of our local running store “The Runners Edge,” announced that we had to wait a few minutes to start the race as there was a train crossing right on the road we were starting on.  

As we stood there, a gal who was waiting next to us said she has seen me running out by her house.  I commented on the hill we would be running less than a mile into the race.  I told her I had not run hills in years, and was not sure how I would do.  She told us about what a fellow runner had advised.  

He said, “If you want to be good at running hills, Run Hills. If you want to run fast…Run Fast.”  

This was such a straight-forward concept, but very profound at the same time.  How many times do we say “I wish I could….”  But how simple it is, really: If we just simply did it, eventually we would get good at it.  

Me, personally, however, I do not wish to be good at running hills…

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner 

P.S. The hill was fairly easy, and I also ended up with lots of help on the race route as people were so generous when they saw I was using my white cane.  I am so grateful for the kind and loving women who took the time during their run to make sure I was okay and following the right route.  Sure makes me proud of my fellow runners! 

And I finished the four miles in about 46 minutes…Not too bad for a blind runner.

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Never Say Never

Well, it’s been 3 years since I ran my first full 26.2 mile marathon in 2007.  And even though I said I would never run another full marathon, and the past two years I’ve been perfectly satisfied to run the half marathon, the time I’ve spent writing my book about training for and running my first marathon really got me considering running the full marathon again. 

Experience is a great educator, and I realized that there were a lot of things I did wrong in my first one. Such as starting out too fast in my delusional fantasy of running a 4 hour marathon, when I have never run that fast before, ever!  

And there were a bunch of things I could have done better, such as training in hot weather, and incorporating a strength training program into my workouts. 

But most of all I’m planning on running another marathon simply because I just want to prove to myself that I can have a really great marathon experience from the running aspect of things. I struggled with the heat and some physical issues from not realizing that my body was out of alignment. 

The reason I’m even considering a full marathon again is because I had such a wonderful experience with the whole process the first time around:  from the training runs with my good friend Vickie, to the wonderful support from my partner, friends, and family, to the awesome celebratory dinner afterwards at the Lolo Creek Steakhouse.  

But most of all, it was the Missoula Marathon itself!  It was an incredible experience for me, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. In fact, Run Wild Missoula does such a fantastic job of pulling together such a phenomenal race experience for the runners, that it was named Runner’s World Magazine’s Reader’s Choice 2010 as Best Overall Marathon!  How’s that for a great reason to run it again?

So with some new challenges to face this year as I train and prepare, like having to use my white cane more, and my work schedule shifting as I coordinate the logistics of working a new job, I am still more than ready to put in the miles to get me to the finish line healthy and with a huge smile on my face!

Ready to Run?

 How ’bout it?

-Vision Runner

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