By David Freeze
I teach regular classes in wellness, both for groups and individuals. One thing that I enjoy doing most is a group class for those who aspire to be runners. These classes are taught several times a year and the series always lasts eight weeks. We have a classroom session one night a week and follow that with a run. The classroom sessions are enjoyable and cover topics like nutrition, stretching and strengthening, form, injury prevention and safety. The runs increase in distance each week from a half mile to 3.1 miles on the last evening. Class members run three other nights a week on their own.
Last spring, I got an email from a lady named Robin who asked about the next class. Robin said, “I need to lose weight and get in shape!” I told her that we had one in progress with three weeks to go but wouldn’t have another until early September. I did invite Robin to come join us free of charge for the last three weeks and then retake the class in September.
It isn’t unusual to get these calls, and about a third of those who call don’t show up. In my current class, another woman contacted me three times about the class, two of those with excuses for missing the first two meetings. She never showed up.
Back to Robin, she did show up back during the spring and mixed in a lot of walk/running while the others who were much fitter by that time finished well ahead of her. But the truth was that Robin had stepped way out of her comfort zone to start this process. Always pleasant and encouraging to the others, Robin had only to decide whether she would come back in the fall to do it all the right way.
With the start of the new class, we were mired in the late summer heat wave that lingered for weeks and just recently broke. Heat is the hardest thing on new runners and many of the experienced ones too. Robin had seemed sincere, but I gave her only a 50/50 chance of showing up again and sticking out the eight weeks.
Today is October 13th, and with a bump in the road, Robin is about to complete her seventh week in the class. Last week, she completed 2 ½ miles of running without stopping. This week, she will do it again and next week, Robin will complete her first 5K (3.1 miles). I have no doubt she will finish the class because everyone who makes it this far does.
That speed bump threatened to end her effort. Things were fine after week one. At the start of week two, Robin took off running way too fast on her one mile run. She faded fast and struggled to finish. Week three, she wanted to quit. Robin sent me a message and said she wasn’t coming. Her therapist said running was causing her too much anxiety.
I disagreed and told her so. She needed regular exercise for many reasons. The anxiety would go away and her confidence would build after each new distance conquered. Robin agreed to resume her effort. She came back ready to work, believing her goal of 3.1 miles was just ahead.
Just last week, on a beautiful night in downtown Salisbury, Robin cruised through 2 ½ miles. She’ll do it again this week and then complete her first 5K on Thursday, October 24th.
My point is that we all have to believe in ourselves. Believe and go for what we want to achieve. Great things are done by people who believe they will!
