The Accidental Runner

My butt hurts today. Just thought I would share that with you. You see...

Last night I went to spin class. Kelly was the instructor. She is sorta new but not really. You see...

This is the class that Connie used to teach. Connie is gone. Kelly was tough but not as tough (yet) as Connie.

Last night when I was relaxing, my legs started to twitch and cramp.

Today's Houston Chronicle profiles a guy who is running the marathon this Sunday. I would name him The Accidental Runner. Sort of like me.

My dad ran his first marathon sometime after he turned 50. Can't remember the exact year but I do remember him saying that he was going to run it and I thought, "How nice." I had no idea what it entailed.

So my sister and I went down to the start line and clapped and cheered and waited for him to cross the finish line. We clapped and cheered and that was that. I do remember thinking that many of those people running were older than me and didn't look like they should be running and a showtune entered my mind. Go figure. The song is from A Chorus Line it is...I Can Do That.

It wasn't until I moved to Houston that it even occurred to me to take up running as a hobby. You see...when I was a kid, I was fat and pale and couldn't run. If I did run, my cheeks would get all red and I would sweat and people would laugh at me. I was also the slowest.

Prior to moving to Houston in 1992, I was an aerobics freak. So much to the point that I had injuries from doing aerobics too much. So when I got here I couldn't find an aerobics studio that I liked AND I realized that with running all you needed was a pair of running shoes and you're off. It also helped that I fell in love with Memorial Park.

As time progressed, I started running more and more. A former friend of mine was an avid runner and very serious about it. So one day we were talking and I casually mentioned that I wanted to do a marathon one day. With a condescending tone in his voice he said, "You will never finish a marathon."

Never? Rut-ro. Wrong thing to say. Now if he had said, "You will never win a marathon." that would have been a different story.

So several years AFTER the friendship ended and after 6 months of training, I crossed the finish line in the 1998 Houston Marathon. It was painful but I did it. I fell down around mile 22 and they wanted to put me in an ambulance but I was stubborn enough to argue and finish. Yep. The last few miles were a run/walk but I did it. And that was the first of several marathon completions for me. At one point I realized that the 1/2 marathon was my friend. :-)

Many of my friends don't comprehend why I run. Part of it has to do with my childhood. If I didn't run, I'd be as big as a house. There is some amount of freedom that you feel when you run. There is always a sense of accomplishment when you finish...even IF it is a bad run. Training for long runs draws upon self-discipline. In the past, I used running events to feed my passion for travel. Runs in San Diego, Big Sur, Victoria (Canada) are on the list...not to forget little fun runs in places like New Orleans and New York.

On occasion, I have used running to raise money. Those two runs are what pushed me to the finish line.

So today, even though my butt was hurting (and still is), I went for a jaunt around Memorial Park around noontime. Annie had tried calling and guessed that I was outside. The weather was WAY TOO NICE not to go for a run.

While I was out there, I saw a gaggle of reporters, cameramen, runners and Steven Karpas from the Houston Marathon. It was a press frenzy of some sort and it was all in preparation for the marathon on Sunday.

It took me back to a few years ago when I was interviewed by Bob Boudreaux who was a reporter for Channel 13. They were looking for human interest stories and I was selected. You see...

That was one of the years I raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Bob and I ran around the park, he interviewed me and I was featured on the evening news and then again on race day. The Houston Chronicle picked up the story and featured me one day. I received a few inquiries as to who I had hired as my press agent. LOL The following year, one of the Spanish stations interviewed me and did a feature about me. They even had a camerawoman waiting for me to cross the finish line the day of marathon.

So there ya have it folks. That's my The Accidental Runner story and I'm sticking to it!