A slow start

Once upon a time, I could run a sub-six minute mile without batting an eye; 6:15 pace was considered "cruising;" and I never ran anything, even the really long runs, slower than 8 minute pace. I lifted weights or swam a mile before breakfast. Once upon a time, a twenty mile run didn't seem particularly challenging and I perused race calendars to find local marathons and ultramarathons.

Sadly, this time wasn't too long ago, and yet, based on my current state of physical fitness, it seems like eons ago.

And then last month, the back page of an airline magazine had a fluff human interest piece about a 76 year old nun who also happens to be an Ironman competitor. The story was motivational both by way of admiration and shame. I admired the strength of the elderly Sister Madonna Buder, but was also ashamed that she was accomplishing such amazing feats while my more youthful body was languishing on the couch. And so I decided it was time to get in shape.

The logical thing to do would be to pick a short and easily manageable 5K to train for as my first step toward getting in shape. And so I printed off the entry form to the McKenzie River 50K(yes, that's fifty!) ultramarathon the day before it was due and told Mac I was going to get in shape for this race. Mac rolled his eyes and said something to the effect of "why can't you ever just set small goals." And then he went on to complain that that kind of training would take too much time away from the family. Anyway, it turns out we are already scheduled to go on a trip with my parents the week of the race, so it was out of the question. But, I reckoned, there's always the Portland marathon, and so two weeks ago I started "training."

The thing is, I can't just go out and run five miles like I used to. In fact, two miles seems like a long distance these days. And man am I slow! In my two weeks of running, I have done exactly two minutes at 8 minute pace. I am not even sure I qualify as a runner; I am more like a jogger, a term that all real runners despise.

One nice thing about starting slow is that the progress seems very dramatic. In just seven runs, I went from ten minute miles to nine minute miles. If I keep up that kind of improvement I should be setting a world record sometime next month! And if I always ran fast, I never would have discovered that Aha's "Take On Me" has the exact beat as running a 9:13 mile!

When I was in my running prime, I used to tell myself It's not where you start; it's where you finish; the tortoise was my personal running mascot. So hopefully this slow start to my training doesn't accurately portend where I'll end up - slow and steady...