I think I've mentioned before that I've spent most of my life not being an athlete. I had an athletic spurt in 5th and 6th grades when I played softball. But I played catcher, so the most running I would have to do would be potentially running the bases when batting (not necessarily a common occurrence). I considered doing field hockey in high school when they were just starting a team, but decided against all of the running. For my two required P.E. classes in college, I took fencing and gymnastics. I enjoyed them both while still avoiding having to run around too much. (What I really wanted to take was horseback riding, but that's another story for another day.)
Now my inner athlete has chosen this year to emerge. And it's not been happy to limit itself to just one activity. How far have I come in seven months? (Glad you asked)
I run. My longest run to date has been seven miles, set two weeks ago. And I'm planning to run a half-marathon in February. Up next is a Thanksgiving day 5K. I'm actually seeking out things to do.
I bike. I did over 60 miles over 2 days in September (on my almost 20 year old mountain bike). I really enjoy being on my bike. I'm now the proud owner of a proper road bike. I'm already signed up to the MS Bike ride next year. I may do the 60 mile ride first day.
I condition. I'm taking a fit class so I can get some all-over strength training. The biking and running don't really lend themselves to upper-body improvement.
I swim? If you recall from my Tin Man Triathlon experience, the swim was my weakest leg. While I can keep afloat and move about in a pool, I don't have a proper stroke. And I can't coordinate my breathing and swimming. Or, I should say, I couldn't. I got a co-worker who does triathlons to give me a swimming lesson. While I still don't have anything pretty, I at least feel like I could get from one side of the pool to the other with something resembling a stroke without gasping for breath or feeling completely worn out by the time I got to the other side. Now what I need is practice. And for that, I need to find a pool. There's no community pool in the county I live in. The pool used for the lesson is not particularly convenient. I'll figure something out.
Where this inner athlete has been hiding all my life up to this point, I don't know. But I like her. And I hope she sticks around for a while. I'm doing my best to keep her here.
