Sun Run week 6: Journal entry #1

I hate running. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
I love to dance. I danced ballet and contemporary for thirty hours a week for most of my young adult life. Running is a misery to do and a ludicrous spectacle to witness. “Who is chasing you?” I used to think to myself watching the people jog by on the sea wall of English Bay. Certainly there is a philosophical point to running – that whole health and fitness thing – but isn’t the whole point of health and fitness to make you happy for a long time? What is the point of it all if it is a misery?
That was me five years ago, when it was brought to my attention that I was no longer fitting into a tutu. I tried to do the Sun Run training program on my own, gasping around Kilarney lake like a lunatic because I thought it was something I should do. That was me four months ago, even, when Tyler and Shelley talked me into signing up for the training session. That was me up until Saturday, January 17 when I started the Sun Run Training group.   
That is not me anymore. I love running, now. I really, really love it.
The Learn to Run Training program starts at one minute running and one walking (8 times) and it builds from there. The first week’s “tough run” of one minute of running is hilarious, because the rule is that if you are running faster than someone who is walking beside you, you are running too fast. Ooooh, I love this, she thinks to herself. I love it. You finish the session and all you have in your pocket is endorphins and glowing skin. Woo hoo!
Now we’re in week six and doing five minutes of running followed by one of walking seven times, so, let’s be fair, that’s 35 minutes of running with little, tiny, itty, bitty breaks, and we’re not even half way through our training! I think it would be fair to say that we are kind of actually running.
Here’s what I love about the Learn to Run Sun Run Training Group:

• • Attendance: It gets you there. There is no way I am getting up at 7:30 am on a rainy Saturday to slosh in the cold mud all by myself. The leaders and the members of the training group are waiting at the school for us – we meet, have a pep talk, have a group warm-up, hit the road. It’s week six and I haven’t missed one.
• • The loop: You can go as slow as you want – in fact, you’re encouraged to! But if you do find yourself straggling behind (yes, that would be me), you will soon hear a cacophonous cry of “LOOP!!” and the vision of tens of runners circling around to pull up behind you will appear. We’re running for time, not distance, at this point, so turning back and circling around is all a part of the training. Keeps the group together, keeps us all supported and paced.
• • The leaders: Jo Quarry, Sharon Slugget, Paul Rickett, Amanda Oeckleon, Karen Heath, Rob Forbes, David Demner…. They all give you fantastic tips such as “slow down,” “ align your feet,” and my favourite, “stop moving so much!” (Think Phoebe from the TV show Friends jogging through Central Park! If you can’t conjure up that image, ask Sonja to show you – she does a spectacular imitation!)
• The group: Lots of people to arrange a run with during the week for our two “homework” sessions.
• The perks: Free gym membership for the three months, a cool Sun Run t-shirt, bag and power bars, website ideas and fantastic presentations.
• The presenters: Experts are invited to come in to talk about gear, nutrition and other incredibly inspirational topics!

I have friends who are in the Run Stronger Sun Run Training group. We all meet together on Saturday mornings for the presentation and the warm up before we go our separate ways. I hear that they do intervals like “run slowly for five minutes” and then “run really fast for five”. I can’t even bear to think about that right now, but I wish them well.
But they also need to know… we are chasing you