-John Bingham, running speaker and writer
When I was a child I loved being active. I was on every team at school, including the spots that my school only had a boys' team for (soccer, floor hockey). I was on the track team, and represented my school for almost half the events. By the time I was 12 I could run 2.5k in 9 minutes. That may not seem impressive (and trust me, it isn't) but for me, that was pretty awesome. By high school I had to make a choice: sports, or music. I picked music. I barely moved my body for 5 years while I was in high school. I couldn't have run next door without sucking wind. Eventually it all caught up to me. I had spent so many years abusing my body that something finally clicked. All of a sudden I gave a crap about what I ate, and how active I was.
It was October 2009. My main excuse was I couldn't run because of my heart murmur. "My doctor says I don't have the endurance that others do, so why would I even try?". Bullshit! Someone finally called me on my bullshit. For years I had been coming up with reasons NOT to run. Then one day a friend went for a run, and stopped by to visit at work. He looked really good, he had a huge smile and that "glow" that you get after a good hard run. I told him that I always wanted to run but couldn't. It turns out he had a heart murmur as well, and could run just fine. Did he have to work harder at it? Maybe. But who cares? The harder you work, the more fun you have. Anyway, I was now out of excuses. On October 31st I decided to become a runner. I put on some huge sneakers, and tried to assemble what I thought my "sportiest" outfit was (cargo pants, a cotton t-shirt, and a hoodie). I must have looked ridiculous. I couldn't even get to the end of my block. But I kept going. I would run until I thought I was going to die, and then I would walk it off, and then I would run until I thought I was going to die...you get the picture. Eventually I could run for 6 minutes at a time. That was a big deal for me. That was ANY song on my iPod. I could run and listen to a WHOLE song.
I don't remember what made decide I wanted to run a half-marathon. Insanity, most likely. I couldn't even run 4k at this point. It was the middle of January, 2010. This is when I made the switch to proper (sort of) running gear. I bought some running pants (I was not yet ready for tights) and a running sweater, and an olympic hat to make me feel like a champ. I ran 6k that month. I thought my ass was going to freeze off. I had to stop due to ass coldness. It was the first time something gave out before my lungs. That was very empowering. My lungs were now more powerful than my ass.
Spring turned to summer, where I hurt my achilles on a hot day. I've learned to listen to my body now. Summer turned to fall. Joined a beach volleyball league. Cue 1 month before my half-marathon. My right foot gets STOMPED on up at the net. This is right at the peak of my training. I was out for a very long time. I missed my longest run of 18k (I had only run 16k at this point) and ended up not running for about 3 weeks. I was completely panicked about my race at this point. I had to trust my training.
My foot healed up just in time for me to get a cold. I maybe did a 5k the week before my race. On the plus side, race day morning everything went better than expected. I even felt better than expected while running. I'll put up a full race report some other time.
I lost my spark for running after this. It just wasn't the same without the crowds and the bands and the free gatorade. I had a few shit runs on my own, and a shit run with a friend. It was over at this point. Too icy, too cold, too tired, too lazy. I even had a new pair of VFFs, the Flows.
More on how I feel about the Flows later! I think we're pretty much up to date now, except I have the Bikilas and the Classics, and I love them both dearly.
Hopefully there will be more to come in the near future!
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