GETTING STARTED ON RUNNING

I remember myself as someone who never liked running at all. In fact I hated running. I hated the fact that i had to be out of breath even before i was anywhere near the finishing line. I remember my school teachers telling me i 'seemed' made for running. Even when they managed to get me off the starting line, I would give up when I felt out of breath. Once i started panting, I stopped. I didnt believe that panting was any good for me. That was when i about 10 years old. Vivid memories. Then the fitness test thingy was implemented in school. I tried running as fast as i could to get it over and done with. I was always thoroughly out of breath and i felt like i was dying, by the time i finished my 4 rounds ( I think its 4 rounds of the soccer field..my memory fails me at times ). I always felt it was a torture to have to run. I could do pretty well in my other stations like sit and reach and pull ups for girls and even shuttle run. I just could not understand the need for running to be included on fitness test. I did hear that it was for an all rounded test and it was a test of stamina, which meaning i didnt bother to know and didnt feel was needed for my understanding at that point in time. I just wanted to shut off running as much as I could. Mind you i wasnt even overweight in school. So i felt indiganant when I was told to do a sports that only fat kids had to do. Apparently I didnt know any better. The same thing happened in secondary school pretty much the same way. I spent 5 years in secondary school liking every part of PE except running. Strangely, though it was a 8 times run out of 10 times lesson, i still didnt get used to it or try to like it.. I loved the PE lessons they had in my pre-u. They had 3 months of different types of sports. I hadnt mentioned that i do like sports lke basketball, volleyball, swimming( i tried to swim), badminton.. in fact anything that gets me running around and moving and sweating i loved it. Everything except hockey and baseball and Definitely running..I felt its monotonous and well running 6 rounds of the field definitely made me like running even less. So I spent 4 years (yeah I loved school too much and thats the only excuse to stay away from home legitimately but thats another story) in pre u looking forward to 3 months of swimming, 3 months of volleyball, netball, badminton.. then i dreaded the approaching of the yearly fitness test as that meant i had to start running 6 rounds of the field in an aimless sort of way.. Yeah well i know the finishing point is at the end of the 6 rounds and that probably should make me feel motivated to run the 6 rounds quick enough to get it over and done with. I remembered I ran fast enough to pass but not good enough for a silver and I definitely was not having fun running 6 rounds, if anything at all. Besides I was looking forward to all the other sports where i could play with other classmates rather than be running by myself for 6 long rounds. I always felt that I like to be a people person and play group games. Just that they probably had to bear with my screaming when the game gets exciting and i get over excited lol. I didnt let up even when i play basketball with the guys. I was definitely as tough as I feel I should especially where there are guys involved. All the more i will not let up on my toughness and I would try my best to grab that ball from them. I certainly wasnt demure and i definitely wont be where sports is concerned. Of course i know sports isnt all about winning and I have been complimented on good sportswomanship so I know I am not a sore loser for sure *smiles* its just that I might get a little too enthusiastic when I get too excited I guess. Oh well, we are all imperfect beings arent we? Still I really wasnt too excited about running. I would go for my annual test 'raw' without training in advance. Then I would tell myself that I got to train in advance next year. Next year came and the same thing happen. I would be running myself to death and telling myself that I should train in advance nezt year. But it never happened. One day about 8 years back, I ran as fast as i could, feeling like i was dying but still manage to catch my breath, I was told that i had failed my running. Because of that I had to take the whole test all over again. Running was the crucial part of the whole test. And many people, like myself had not much problems with the other stations except running, which was a test of stamina and endurance. Appparently, I was lacking in that department. So i was dealt with a blow. After 3 years of taking the test without advance training, I got complacent and thought I could get away with it once again. But I guess it was time I learnt my lesson. And so I had to go for training to improve my stamina and speed, both of which i wasnt good at. In fact i was pretty bad at that. I had to go for training sessions grudgingly, for the sake of not having to keep failing and prolonging the vicious cycle of failing and training over and over again. Eventually I managed to pass but I still hated running. But i realised the importance of training before the test. So years passed and in between years, when I wasnt feeling too rebellious against the idea of running for no apparent rhyme or reason, I would go for a very short run around the neighbourhood. Or I would walk one or two bus stops home, telling myself that this should help me stamina. Deep down I know it wasnt helping much but I brushed off the slight feeling of uneasiness and kept telling myself that had to work, with all the emphasis on walking being a form of exercise. Strange to say, I never had to worry about failing the running test anymore. I am sure my walking had no major part to play in improving my stamina. But perhaps a change of place and a more active work life and working with a 4 legged cheeky hairy animal and playing with it helps I guess. And then suddenly running was almost second nature and I didnt hate it that much anymore. However, I still didnt like running much. Deeply rooted within me, I still had this grudge and reluctance to run. But by now I had realised by now that my struggle and unwillingness to train for my running test will one day land me in hot soup again and i certainly didnt want to fail my fitness test because of running again. And so I started to train for my annual running. But even then, I still procrastinated til the eleventh hour to start training. I would wait til about 2 weeks prior to my test then try to build up my stamina which had been lagging since my prevous test one year back. So by the time I was halfway through the uphil task of trying to build up whatever little stamina within the short period of time, I would have taken the test and then I would have stopped running altogether and fitness wise I would be slack. Out of the blue, one day, I decided that I was going to start training my fitness. I was going to do it so that I didnt run for the sake of the test. I was going to run so that I didnt feel half dead after my annual test every year. I was gonna go for a half marathon eventually. As in all things, the beginning part was the most difficult. As my body wasnt attuned to running on a regular basis, I began to feel discomfort in my kneecap. I panicked. Then i asked friends who are regular runners, the reason behind the discomfort in my knees. They then advised me to take a supplement known as glucosamine which helps in joint tissue repair and is good for people who are active or so sports and running on regular basis. I still remembered once when I was running halfway and I tripped and fell( well i definitely am not the most agile person but then i am clumsy i know) and some workers who were doing road works laugh at me. Embarrassing definitely, but more indignant. Who hasnt fell down?More important is picking myself up after the fall, which I did. I didnt allow myself to falter. In fact, I got to a point that i got so addicted to running that i be running every alternate day til my knees couldnt take it anymore and i had to cut down to 2 or 3 times per week instead. As in all things in life, there are many hurdles to cross and obstacles to overcome. I remember I stopped running for about 2 weeks at a time and that happened more than twice.In fact there was a lapse in between when I wasnt running for about 2 months or so. I think its common knowledge that once a person stops running for 2 weeks the stamina will go all the way down, back to square one. So i actually did that on a few occasions, due to holidays and sometimes feeling down. I had to keep reminding myself that i hadnt been running for too long. But the other part of me will tell me to take it easy and so would the people around me. So i began to slacken.... But somewhere in June this year, I started running regularly again. As usual, it was uphill task after not running for a while. But I am glad to say that I manage to persist and i even sign up for the Mizuno wave run in August and I actually went for it. Quite happy with myself I must say.