April 14, 2009

Fun with Chia

Chia seems to think I have a drinking problem. I’ve been saving up some quotes for the last week or so…

Me: I’ve only run about 30 miles since Feb 2, and 14 of those were last weekend. Do you think it’s a bad idea for me to do a marathon this weekend and another one the weekend after?
Chia: If anyone else asked me that question, I would say no, but it’s you. You’ll be fine. You could do that drunk.
Me: Maybe I will…

Me: I’m trying to think what kind of a workout I can do that doesn’t involve getting out of bed or exerting myself
Chia: drinking?
Me: workout for my whole body, not just my liver
Chia: well if you set your cocktail at the foot of the bed and do situps to get it?

However, tonight I made the ultimate move to prove that I am not all about the alcohol. Despite having plans to head to a new wine bar (my favorite after work entertainment!), I found myself taking the subway home instead of down to the Lower East Side. When I got home, I couldn’t wait to put on my running clothes and sneakers, strap on my Garmin and hit Central Park! It was just an absolutely gorgeous day, and it’s such a new and amazing sensation to get out of work when it’s still light out and possible to go running. Skipping drinking in favor of running… that HAS to make me a real runner, right?

Once home, I grabbed some library books and walked to the library in my running gear to drop them off, then started my run in earnest from the library steps. I jogged over to Columbus Circle at the foot of the park, then ran up East Drive to the reservoir and did that loop, circling back out to West Drive and then heading home. I didn’t worry about time or pace, but I ended up doing 5 miles in 47:13, for a 9:24 pace – not bad! I felt very easy and relaxed as I ran; I returned home feeling good that I had done it, but not even tired like I had really worked out.

On my French memo board that holds my medals, I have one thing up that’s not a medal. It’s an Adidas advertisement I ripped out of a Canadian running magazine a year ago, which shows two girls jogging along a body of water with a quote that says, “Our short runs used to be our long runs. Impossible is nothing.” It’s one of my favorite quotes, and I found myself thinking about it tonight.

I can vividly remember the first time I ever ran five miles. It was in Bradenton, Florida, on December 30, 2006. My boyfriend at the time and I were down in Florida for New Year’s, and while neither of us were strong runners, we decided it would be fun to do the Manatee River Run – a five mile race. The most I had ever run at that point was about 3.5 miles, but I decided to go for it. When I hit the point in the race where I was in uncharted territory (meaning I had never run that far before), I felt totally exhilarated that I was doing something I had previously thought was impossible. In the last few hundred yards when I saw the finish line in front of me, I knew I was going to make it, and I gave it everything I had to pass those around me. It was one of the first times I had really sprinted to the finish, and I was grinning from ear to ear the rest of the day. All that over five miles, which I had just done as part of a mini-workout that didn’t really tire me! It really amazes me to see how far I’ve come.

Impossible is nothing.

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9 thoughts on “Fun with Chia”

  1. Impossible is nothing. I’m going to have to remember that! I love most running commercials that I find in magazines, they really are quite inspiring 🙂

  2. How inspiring! I also vividly recall the first time I ran a 10-K. I hit uncharted waters at mile 4 and wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

    I finished and I felt great, and I never looked back. 18 months later I ran my first marathon.

    Dan
    Casual Kitchen

  3. Great quote. I think similar thoughts when I’m on long bike rides. And it helps keep me going. I also think “I don’t like to drive this far…why I am cycling it?”

  4. Great post and love that ad! I had a similar moment last week when 7 miles was a short run for me; and yesterday, 5 miles was just getting me warmed up…impossible is nothing!

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