So, how did all of this craziness start ?!

Hello, iRun nation !  It’s a very bright and beautiful Monday morning in Toronto but too cold compared to what we expect for this time of year.

Hopefully, spring is around the corner !

Being one of the iRun makeover contestants, one of the questions that I get asked by people is “How did you get started on this path” ? Or, “What made you start to run” ?  Well, I have been told that that is an interesting story and is very similar to alot of peoples’ life experience but unlike alot of people, I found a way to deal with the problem. You see, the problem was an over-stressed lifestyle.

About 4 years ago, I was in my early forties and employed with a fabulous company that satisfied my creative and professional bent but the job was long hours full of stressful phone calls with clients trying to close a sale; if the sale did not happen, I didn’t get paid; simple as that. What could be more stressfull ?  I was sitting on my duff and not exercising at all but not eating well either.  I had a sedentary job but I had always been naturally slim and had a small appetite and I thought that I could eat any food if it was once per day only (no breakfast or lunch – only dinner). But, I was steadily gaining weight and feeling more and more lathargic, tired and had noticed that I didn’t “bounce back” from an arduous day as easily as I once had. What the hell was wrong with me ? I knew that the stress factor of my job was the culprit and so I embarked on a campaign of “wellness” and “relaxation”. Candles and incense were purchased and used everynight after work, long hot baths in the tub were indulged in, wonderfull 9 hour sleeps every night as well.  I tried all of these alone and together to lower my stress levels and too regain my stamina. To no avail.  The results were temporary at best and at worst, made no difference at all. I thought of starting Yoga classes but decided to try a more frequent and enriched sex life as that was a great stress reliever too (unfortunately,  my husband benefited more from that than did I !)  No success …what was I going to do ? Did that really mean that I was going to have to try “gasp” exercise ?! OMG !! Not that ! hahha…I had never excersised a day in my life per se.  I mean, I had grown up on a farm up north and by its nature, farming is a very physical way of life but I had not been active in grade or high school sports or anything else after finishing highschool. My idea of exercise was running to the Holts sales rack or to my favorite shoe store to get the last pair of heels in my size !

One day, in January 2006, I was walking home from work and saw a stationary bicycle thrown out on the curb. It had two pedals and two handles and not much else; no speeds except ridiculously easy and hellishly hard but it was clean, white and best of all : free ! So I lugged it home and hauled it up the stairs to the master bedroom and the very next day (following some sort of imaginary New Years’ Eve resolution) got on that bike and pedalled for 5 minutes and promptly thought that I would die ! Right then and there ! I had never sucked air so hard or so fast ! Of course, I had had no cardiovascular exercise in about 25 years and my body was screaming at me ! But, I persevered : 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 9 minutes and more. I began to be aware of what I ate and how much;  I started to educate myself about calories, carbs, protein and fat intake. By God, I thought,  if I am going to work this hard, I’m not going to let it go to waste for stupid empty calories !  By the spring, I could pedal on my little bike for half an hour at a time and the pounds were melting away; ten down from January but mostly I think due to my strict diet of not eating anything that “my grandmother wouldn’t have recognized” diet. No processed foods – at all.  No cheese, no red meat, no pop, no white bread, rice, pasta, no desserts, no alcohol, no pre-prepared food. I made everything from scratch or ate it whole or fresh.

Spinach and brocolli were my best freinds as well as fresh fruit, chicken and fish.  By May, I was tired of the bike and looked around for something else to do and I realized that I could put on a pair of running shoes and go out the door at any time and run down the street.  So, I did that and ran from Broadview to Pape subway stations along the Danforth; I found out that the distance was 1.1 kilometres oneway; double that for 2.2 or triple it for 3.3….now I was interested but not hooked. It was hard running; much harder than I had thought.  I felt as if I was back to those first days on the bike….sucking air and managing only 1 or 2 Ks before I had to stop. But I am a very determined woman and I kept at it if only because I felt that this could be my last chance to “make a difference in my physical life” as it were.  Twice per week,  I would lace up my shoes and go out and run 2 to 4 K and once I ran 7 K all on my own, however, I knew that I could not go much further on my own (running by yourself is very boring if you have no idea what you are doing and have no clear goal to strive towards).  I needed help.

So, fast forward one more year during which I struggled with running;  I picked it up and let it go then picked it up and let it go again. Winter came and went (who runs in the wintertime ??!! ….only crazy people you know !)

Another springtime and another oppurtunity. Whatever cardiovascular benefits I had gained from running have surely been wasted by now…I have to start from the beginning ! I had seen a yoga place that offered running clinics in the neighbourhood and had wondered about them. But surely this is a place were “runners” and “athletes” go;  not people like me.  If I were to go there, I would get laughed at;  wouldn’t everybody realize that I couldn’t run more than 4 K without getting winded ?

Stay tuned …for the next part of this personal journey……