How To Get Back In The Saddle

Photo by D Medeiros

I injured my back almost two years ago, effectively putting my running shoes on ice. I have since healed and my running has resumed. But two years after my initial injury, I still hadn't run a race. Why the avoidance? In my mind, a less-than-stellar official performance would confirm my fear: I am not be the runner I used to be.

But really, who is the runner any of us used to be?

We had a tête-à-tête and my internal naysayer quieted. I laced up my big girl shoes, determined to get a race under my newly rehabilitated belt and reclaim the tag, "runner."

If you are also looking to get back in competitive mode after a hiatus, and you are not Lance Armstrong or Michael Phelps, please learn from me, a runner who runs like the rest of us.

1. Find a race and course within your comfort zone.

There is no need to go for a marathon your first time back out in the field. Like Bob says in the movie, What About Bob?, “Baby steps, baby steps.” For most of us, a 5 kilometer race should suffice. I found such a race, held on a Sunday, that went right through my neighborhood, which means I train that particular course frequently. Any more in my comfort zone and I’d be running in my pajamas in my living room.

To find local races in your area, try coolrunning.com or active.com.

2. Do not look up your previous splits and race times.

Times are not that important. The goal here is to get your running legs back and remind those muscles fibers, including those in your brain, what running a race feels like. The twitching nerves at the start, the jostling for position, the calm when you settle in your rhythm, the self talk, these are the components of racing with which you should get reacquainted.

3. Look the part.

Update your gear. Shoes, helmets, tires, they all lose their essential properties and break down over time.  Same as your knees and hips if you use old, worn gear.

You are a clean slate. Running on sneakers from 2002 in your favorite Frankie Goes To Hollywood t-shirt does not say "clean slate." Temper current fashion with comfort. However, you don’t necessarily need to buy Vibram Five Fingers or whatever shiny new toy has hit the market, which leads my to the next point:

4. Now is not the time to experiment.

No new training regimens or diets. Go with what has worked in the past.

Trying new foods and new nutritional supplements risks stomach and intestinal upset. A port-a-potty crawl is not the way to enjoy your first race back. I eat easily digested carbohydrates and proteins, i.e., scrambled eggs, yogurt and a banana. It’s what I know works for me.

5. Stop about the splits already!

My first race back, I ran the first mile in 7:50. I was pumped. Then, during the second mile, a fellow runner collapsed, about 5 people ahead of me. Several runners stopped to help him. I heard somebody shout, “Call 911!” Since I run with my phone I call "iphriend" and follow orders well, I leaped into action and called for medical assistance. Once proper medical attention was secured, most of continued on to finish the race, though our times for the race were now shot. Why? Because times and splits are not that important.

I run because I can.

Maybe because I am female and have battled numbers my whole life - weight, height, GPA, BMI, bra size, all of it limiting and depersonalizing, I feel strongly that numbers are not that important in the grand scheme of things. Get over it and move forward.

6. Commit

If you sign up and pay for a bib number, you are more likely to follow through to your goal. If you tell your neighbor or friend to meet you on the corner so you can walk to the race start together, you are more compelled to do it . If you tell you family and friends about the race and they make a little cheering section for you and you alone, you are going to want to show them how strong and fast you look, even running up that hellacious hill on Hunting Ave., the Heartbreak Hill of my race. This is about pride and whatever it takes to get thee to the finish line.

I didn’t win this race, but I didn’t come in last either. It’s good to be back. Like I suspected, I am not the runner I was before.

I am happy to report, I am not that runner at all anymore.