“I’m just not a runner.”
“I can’t BREATHE when I try to run.”
“I could never run a half marathon. That’s just crazy.”
I’ve been told all these various things by people over the years, and I have said every single one of those things myself.
These statements might be true for you… right now. I was not a runner. I could not breathe when I tried to run. I certainly would not have made it across the 13.1 finish line without a great deal of time and consistent effort training my body to have the endurance to do it.
But there’s this secret that new runners need to know… that experienced runners have probably told you, but it’s hard to believe and internalize and TRUST until you’ve done it yourself.
Running can become easy.
If I run at a comfortable pace, on rested legs, it feels as relaxing as if I were going for a walk. My heart rate is up and I’m sweating and I’m working, but I can have a conversation, my legs feel good, and I can go for five miles with no desire to stop.
I never would have believed that when I was beginning Couch to 5k three years ago and struggling to jog for 5 minutes without stopping.
I remember running a trail during my first year of running and seeing friends out for a run together, gliding effortlessly along, talking the whole time.
I was completely out of breath, my calves hurt, it was all I could do to just keep going at my 10:45 minute per mile pace. I felt so demoralized and defeated. In my head, I was sure that they were naturally inclined to be runners. Maybe they’d been running since high school. Maybe they were just built differently than I was. Whatever it was, I was sure that would never be me.
Except… it is. I have plenty of runs where I run hard, or long, and look like the breathless calves-burning version of myself from those years ago. But I know that if I’m rested and going out for a few recovery miles, it’s enjoyable and easy and conversational.
I got there.
It crept up on me, but gradually, mile by mile, my “hard” runs of the week got harder, leaving me with a new definition of “easy”, one that I’d dreamed of when I first started that Couch to 5k Program.
So if you’re sitting there, wondering “Can I become a runner?” “Will I ever get faster as a runner?” or “Is running ever easy?” the answer is yes. It takes time, but it inevitably happens, even if you’re not someone who wears a “Pain is Temporary” t-shirt around town.
I’ve invested time and effort into my running, but not a ton of pain… and so my improvement has been pretty gradual, pretty steady, pretty slow. But it happened.
And now I’m running back to back days, averaging 20+ miles a week, and running by ghosts of my former self on the trail thinking “wow, you had no idea who you were going to become”.