Own Two Feet: My First Year as a Runner
A look back and forward.
One year ago, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, an 8-foot-by-6-foot sukkah (aka: my Jewish party hut) was hogging my coveted jump rope spot on the back deck of my house. Determined to break a sweat, I took off to my neighborhood park 1k loop to try my hand (but mostly feet) at running. This was my introduction to running.
What I discovered was that I really enjoyed the experience. Unlike jumping rope, running really made me feel like I was getting somewhere. Even when running loops, I still felt like I was “covering ground.” It wasn’t long before I was curious to see what I was capable of accomplishing.
So, I entered my first race. No, not a 5k. A 10k. Had I ever run a 10k distance before? Um, no.
But I did it anyway.
And I got second in my age group. It wasn’t until a few months later that I realized that there were only two of us.
I started taking off on longer runs—branching out beyond my neighborhood. Seeing my city from the perspective of a fast-moving bi-ped was exhilarating. I enjoyed seeing just how far I could go.
I’m not sure why but my running really soared when I ditched conventional footwear and moved to running almost exclusively in huarache-style sandals.
Running in less footwear required greater mindfulness for my runs—both so my technique wouldn’t suffer and also so I wouldn’t slam my feel into obstacles along the way.
I started entering more races—never to prove myself to anyone but to definitely to prove myself to myself. But mostly, I entered races to be around people who enjoyed running as much as I did.
Still curious about how far I could go, I ran my first half-marathon distance: 13.1 miles. And with a little help from some Cheez-Its, I made it.
My running continued, but there was an itch in need of scratching. Road running was fine but I felt like there was more to discover. So, one day, for no particular reason, I took a detour.
Instead of running down the very familiar road route on Riverside Drive in Tulsa, I ran across the Arkansas River to Turkey Mountain—a complex of trails spanning some 40-miles or more, if one were to run them all.
After just a few foot landings on the dirt and rocks of the Red Trail, I felt like an animal that had been let loose in the wild. Running down the singletrack trail felt like I was breaking some established rule against having too much fun. I can’t be certain that I wasn’t laughing.
I was hooked on trails.
I became hungry for new trail systems. So, I found some—including Lubell Park: home of the Snake Run — something I definitely plan on doing next year.
This morning, on the day of my one-year anniversary of running, I treated myself to some additional exploration of Turkey Mountain—including taking sections of the Powerline Trail, Blue Trail, and Yellow Trail.
In Conclusion
While I do have specific goals for this second year of running, my biggest goal is to just keep my running fun. I want to explore not only new places on foot but also how running can improve my quality of life and enable me to improve the quality of the lives of others. I’d like to pursue running for some good causes. I’d also like to use running to strengthen relationships with existing souls and maybe make some new friends along the way.
Maybe I’ll see you on down the trail.