Run Forest Run

We have all heard the phrase you’re not getting older you’re getting better. Someone in my family (I think it is my sister) writes that in my birthday card each year. Yeah, it is nice to read, but with the negative stereotypes that revolve around aging in our youth obsessed society, I’m not sure many people believe it.

Before I turned 40 I was in a panic. I could not say the number, look at the number or write the number. I was frantically searching for people who did monumental things who were around that age to show myself I could still be relevant even though I was going to be “old”.

For my 39^th birthday, my father got me a framed photo of Pittsburgh Pirate Willie Stargell. Willie won the MVP Award, League Championship MVP Award and World Series MVP award back in 1979 when he was 39. He was the only player ever to win all those awards in the same season.  So his nickname was “Pops” – he was still at the top of his game, literally. This was an inspiration for me.

Once the madness wore off and I comfortably sunk into my 40’s, I realized I had temporarily gone crazy and was ready to commit myself to greatness. Before I could commit myself to greatness I had to be physically fit. I was very proud of my husband who had been running and completed a few 5Ks and I thought maybe I could do that too.

It seems like the trendy thing to do these days. Get a cute outfit, colorful shoes, a Fit Bit and run like the wind. I have never been a trendy kind of girl but I did have running experience. I ran track in high school for one year.

This experience was atypical for me because it involved athleticism. Yes, I come from an athletic family but I was not an athlete. My dad tried out for the Pirates when he was a teen, my brother excelled at every sport he ever tried and my sister played softball and tennis. I blew into a clarinet. I was the musical one and that was ok, but something inspired me to jump hurdles in my junior year.

I look back on my track year with mixed emotions. I was not that fast or good. The coaches did not put a lot of time into me because well, they knew it too. I got a 4^th place ribbon once because someone didn’t show up and another runner had the flu and went the wrong way. This was a high point for me. I got a ribbon for a sport! Take that siblings!

John Lennon had his 'lost weekend' and I had my lost track year but the feeling I felt when I completed an event stayed with me. I felt good. I felt like I accomplished something. I earned each drop of sweat that fell from my forehead and whether I was first or last, I put myself out there. I was ready to do that again but was it possible? I am in my 40’s.

This past September marked my one-year anniversary of running. I started small – just running at the local high school track after dropping my son off at school. Getting to one mile was tough but I knew this was a work in progress and in time I would be 5k ready.

I became an all season runner. 'I’ll come running…Winter, spring, summer or fall' like the lyrics in the James Taylor song 'You’ve Got A Friend' but it took everything I had on those cold winter days when the track was unfriendly and there was ice and snow.

I have not run a 5k yet but I will. I run 9 miles a week and each time I run I am reminded that life does start at 40. Here I am doing something I couldn’t even do in high school. If I can do this what else can I do? I may not be the fastest or most graceful but I am 42. My age is no longer a negative thing to say. It is my excuse to - Just Do It. (Sorry, Nike!)