By Judith Roberts
I ran half marathons once.
After learning that the Rock and Roll Running Series in New Orleans had been suspended due to COVID, I trained for five and ran three of them. I adored that path. The food, the people that support you, and the fact that the finish line is in City Park are all reasons why I adore New Orleans.
I started running at random. In 2009, my spouse had just received a diabetes diagnosis, and I was beginning my doctoral studies. I think most of you can relate to my natural tendency toward anxiety. But because of those two extra variables, I felt the need for some kind of release, something that would help me feel less anxious. For me, running proved to be the solution.
To get a friend to run with me, I deceived them. For those of you who recall, we used to frequently get ice cream at Maggie Moos, which is now the location of Beehive and Counter Culture, after our evening runs. Before deciding to run a half marathon, neither of us had ever run even a 5k, but we accepted the challenge. We completed our first half marathon after jogging for almost seven months.
And I started to identify with running. I used to run.
With every race I ran in the following years, my running speed increased. When our first daughter was born, I took a year off, but I wanted to run my fourth half before she turned one. I was prepared after retraining.
Then, one month prior to the marathon, I had an injury.
Runners are not good at handling injuries. I spoke with a runner who was far more committed than I was, and he told me that he was halfway through a marathon when he broke his toe, leaving him with roughly three miles left. He broke his toe toward the end of the race.
Once more. I’m not all that committed.
After that injury, I took a five-month break from running. It wasn’t well received by me. By moving around a lot, I most likely made my injury worse, but I did get better in the end. So I decided to give it another go a few years later.
And during the actual week of the event, I sustained another injury.
Even though the first part of my week began with great disappointment, it ended with delight knowing that our second daughter was on the verge of being born because of the tests that had to be performed on my ankle for this second injury.
I simply haven’t prepared for another half marathon since then.
For a good ten years, running was an integral part of who I was. I used to run. I wasn’t a kickboxer, weightlifter, or Crossfitter. I used to run.
However, I’ve accepted that identity over the last few years. Yes, I enjoy being able to identify as a runner. However, by restricting myself to running, I was denying myself other forms of exercise that I like or missed, such as yoga or swimming. Furthermore, who among us genuinely enjoys running in Louisiana during the summer? (There must be one or two of you, but I’m getting off topic.)
For me, this year has been about finding new ways to exercise or get outside. January was a challenging month for me when I started Pilates. Now, though, I adore it. In May, my husband and I even began playing golf. I am having fun, even though I am a complete mess. This spring, I increased my tennis game. And it has made me happier than simply running. I simply loathed logging a few kilometers every day at this point. But I was able to rediscover my love of running by including other types of training.
Exercise should be enjoyable in addition to being physically active and healthful.
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