Trying to pick up the pace

By Wendy Gragg

I always swore I would never run. Not even if something was chasing me. But now here I am, running. Or jogging, or shuffling rhythmically, really. Call it what you want, it aspires to be running and maybe if I stick with it, someday it will be.

Over the last couple of years, it seems that more and more of my friends, in Waco and elsewhere, have taken up running. Also, I live across from Cameron Park which is always lousy with runners, sometimes it looks like an ant colony ... in shorts shorts and sports bras.

At first, I scoffed at my friends for running. To me, taking up running is about as sane as say, taking up shoving bamboo under your fingernails. It's a long-held belief, really.

My dad was a runner/marathoner when I was very young and I was what I like to call, a runner's orphan. My dad was heavily involved in the local running club, so I'd go to races with him. I'd hand out oranges, hand out water, whatever. But what really scarred me was hanging around waiting for my dad as he ran marathons. I'd sometimes find other marathoner's kids to play with. And then, after a while, we'd stake out the finish line — oh horror of horrors.

I've seen runners, looking like every manner of death, cross the line and collapse and have to have medical attention. "People do this for fun?" I thought. I'd sooner shove bamboo beneath my fingernails.

I swore I'd never run, but peer pressure is a .... well, you know the rest of that saying. And maybe somehow, this is my life coming full circle. I take after my dad in more ways than I can count. Maybe a bout with running was inevitable. Plus, there's that whole, running from zombies could be important one day, thing.

So, given the heat, I've been running on the treadmill and had gotten to where I could run an hour straight. I was so proud. So proud, I decided to take my show on the road, literally.

Huge mistake. Huge.

Running outside is HARD. I cried when I ran Saturday. To call me discouraged would be an understatement. As the sun came up, all the real runners started to lap me, so I quit even trying, lest I look stupid in front of those who make the sport look so graceful.

I don't even know if I should be running, though my doc didn't balk when I told her I was trying. I'm a big girl, but I'm strong, have great stamina and am quite flexible. I've walked miles exploring Dublin, New York, Chicago, San Fransisco. I've scuba dived, hiked to a waterfall outside of Puerto Vallarta. I have great yoga form, heck, I even lettered in track and field (shotput and discus) in high school.

But running, I don't know how this is going to end. I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet, so if you Waco runners have any tips, I'm all ears.

And if you pass me some pre-dawn morning on the MLK trail, and I'm crying or I look miserable or otherwise discouraged, a smile would be appreciated, pointing and laughing would not.

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