If you know me, this sentence will shock you: I now regularly wake up at 6 a.m., voluntarily, to go for a run.
(Pause for effect).
After covering sports for years, I had mostly fallen into a “night owl” rhythm, and following my foray as a mediocre high school soccer player, I haven’t dedicated the time to working out that I probably should have. When my boss came to me a few months ago and asked if I would want to help the AJC host the Peachtree Road Race, I gave an immediate ‘yes’ – and in brainstorming story ideas, my thoughts immediately turned to the beginners.
What’s it like to run the Peachtree for the very first time? To start running, with that 10K end goal in mind, and stick with it? The Road Race has a group of elite runners, but plenty of participants fall into the category of busy parents who have to sneak in workouts, or people rehabbing from an injury, or people simply on a journey to improve their fitness.
I fell into that last category, and after a few weeks of going for a jog here and there and not seeing much improvement, I decided to take it seriously and start documenting the process. I don’t have the best endurance naturally, and literally couldn’t run a mile the first time I tried, but running five days a week for 10 weeks has a way of helping you improve in a hurry. Sweating this much on camera was a new concept for me, but I could actually feel myself grow stronger over time.
That encouragement, plus my running sidekick Millie (our ball of energy Australian Shepherd, who tagged along with me on some light days), helped me polish off my first 10K in late June (watch the video below, if only to spot a Millie cameo). It was a lot less exciting than the one lots of folks reading this story will take part in, however – just me measuring out a distance, putting in some headphones and huffing and puffing my way around the neighborhood. But I finished, and that was what mattered to me.
Plus, now that I’m better at running, I actually seek it out (again: pause for effect).
I won’t be able to actually run the Peachtree Road Race on July 4 – no official T-shirt for me, at least this time around. I’ll be on the ground covering much more important stories than my own, talking with everyone from Atlanta Track Club figures to elite racers to folks dressed up in crazy costumes.
Even though I’m still such a beginner, I can officially relate to folks training for the first time for something like this.
So if you see me on Peachtree July 4, please feel free to say hi and give me running tips!
