Learning to Run

Learning to Run 5K

“I’m going to take this learn to run program,” says my friend, Ann. “Do you want to do it with me?”

Do I want to run?

I couldn’t even run to the end of my driveway!

Ann was pretty convincing.

We are soon approaching 40. We need to get healthy. We need to prove to ourselves that we can do it. We need t set a good example for our kids: sticking to something even though it is hard.

We’d done Weight Watchers together a few times, and this was the next challenge.

Besides she’s been one of my best friends for almost 25 years. How could I say no?

Last year we walked the Run or Dye Run, but this would be taking things to the next level!

It was the end of August when we met with our instructor, Helen, who walked us (ran us) through what would happen over the next 10 weeks.

Over those weeks we would build up gradually, resulting in running the 5KM race in the Valley Harvest Marathon in October.

Helen gave us our first week’s assignment. We would start by running 1 whole minute in a row, walk for 2, and do this about 10 times. We would have to do this 3 times a week. One of those sessions we would be meeting as a group to run together.

The first time I ran a minute in a row. I nearly died. I am not unhealthy. I do yoga, bike a lot, walk everywhere, but cardio like this nearly killed me.

Over the next few weeks, Ann and I ran together in the group session and met on Thursday mornings to do our homework run together.

Helen told us that we shouldn’t be so winded while running as to not be able to have a conversation. We took this to heart.

We talked non-stop. The others in our group teased us about this, and called us the Bobbsey Twins! They enjoyed our stories, and couldn’t believe we had that much to talk about.

For me, that’s how I could get through the runs. The days without her were long and boring. Even though we’ve been besties for almost 25 years, in the past few years, living in separate towns, with kids in different activities, we hadn’t been able to spend as much time together. This was the best part of running for me.

Over the 10 weeks, we eventually built up to running 10 minutes in a row, making 1 minute seem like a joke.

We had a great group of women that we trained with. Helen was always there offering advice and giving us encouragement. She was the perfect trainer!

All of this culminated on the big day – the Valley Harvest Run – in Wolfville, NS. Thousands gathered to take part in one of the various runs. Our goal was not to time ourselves. Our goal was to make it to the end to prove that we could do it together.

The race day came and we gathered with hundreds and hundreds of people at the University track and lined up with the other 5km runners. There was a lot of camaraderie, as there were so many people that we knew! It was a great bonding time.

The morning was perfect. The sun was shining, it wasn’t too cold, and the scenery across the Wolfville dykes was breathtaking! The whole race was incredibly well organized which made the whole process enjoyable!

Best of all, we did it! We ran across the finish line at our regular rate! We did it! Ok, we came in 402nd – but we did it, and we weren’t the last!