When I was a kid, I was physically able but not extraordinarily capable. I was never the last person picked in gym class but I was never the first. I could climb the ladder to reach the ceiling in the gym but couldn’t hoist myself up a rope. I could do splits but not cartwheels. Perhaps because I wasn’t naturally and immediately good at sports, I didn’t pursue them avidly.
But as I got older, I definitely felt myself yearning to be on a team. To wear a cute uniform. Other than the orchestra team and uniform. Or the newspaper team and uniform. Or the yearbook team and uniform.
You get my drift.
But by high school, I was so deeply entrenched in music and theater that sports seemed impossible time-wise. Plus, most of the kids playing sports had been in town leagues since elementary school (and admittedly, being on JV or serving as the team manager was not going to cut it for someone like me). When I got to college, I decided to reignite my quest for team sports and went to the first field hockey meeting (I heard that that might be a sport I could join in on later in life), but when I got there, I was overwhelmed by the time commitment. And probably also the fit, gazelle-like women in the room.
So I left and drowned my sorrows in pizza. And once again was relegated to teams of the orchestral and editorial variety.
Then when I was in grad school, a friend asked if I would join the psychology grad league soccer team. She assured me no experience was required; they were a fairly rag tag bunch. So I joined my first sports team at about age 26. And loved it. The team was a little odd personnel wise (perhaps because we were all psychologists) and we didn’t have the much coveted cute uniforms (save the fact that we were told to wear gray t-shirts as Team Gray…blech), but in general, I loved the camaraderie and the challenge. And I ended up being pretty good at soccer. I couldn’t help but wonder how good I would have been had I started with the other kids in elementary school.
Grad league soccer was my ephemeral foray into team sports. And then, 10 years later, came Eat. Blog. Run.
Similar to my entry to soccer, I signed up with almost no experience. When Marie first approached me about running a relay in October, I had only recently started experimenting with running — as in, the longest I had run at that point was 20 minutes. However, bolstered on by signed on teammates Kristen, Julie, and Heather (Kristen and Julie regretfully ended up needing to withdraw when the race changed dates and locations), I took a deep breath and said yes.
And for the next six months, I chipped away at running. I’m not one of those people who can decide to start running and run a half marathon a couple of months later. My knees are a trouble spot and I subsequently need to progress slowly. I started running 1-2 times a week, and gradually increased to 3 days a week, then 4 days a week in the weeks leading up to the race. However, with this frequency increase, I still moved slowly, only upping the mileage when the time felt right. I kept mixing up running with yoga to stretch things out and prevent injury. The week before the race I finally hit the 8 mile mark – a move that I’ve seen other people hit with far less training time, but I was hugely proud of the accomplishment. I moved from feeling petrified to feeling excited and ready for The Relay.
And the experience was amazing. Mind blowing. Life changing. Impossibly ridiculous at times and utterly comical at others. I will detail the adventures in a separate post, but my point is that it is never too late to try something new and push yourself. For so long I felt that running was impossible — and I had pretty much given up on ever finding a team — but I decided to approach running in my own way, at my own pace, and I reached my goal.
And more importantly, I reached my goal with my team. Because of my team. My grad league soccer team adventure was nothing to sneeze at, but this experience was hugely different. It was cultivated in a way that would have been impossible a decade ago. It was an intense 36-hour, 200-mile challenge, some 3,000 miles away from home, and I adored every single one of my eleven speedy, courageous, funny running mates (plus our spectacularly entertaining driver). I would run extra miles — or throw myself in front of oncoming traffic on a winding, ill-lit shoulder — for any of them. I miss all of these women tremendously already.
My team. I finally found it. And as if that wasn’t enough, we ended up with stinkin’ cute uniforms too.
Rocking the finish line in our Team Sparkle skirts. (Image courtesy of Tonya Staab http://www.tonyastaab.com/)
May 5th, 2010 at 9:23 am
[...] 5: My Team (from [...]
May 5th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Yes. Just, yes. I’m so proud of you and how you trained and of course, I’m so utterly proud to have been on a team with you. I’ve had a hard time figuring out how to pin-point the emotions I’ve had since we all departed company on Sunday. Suffice it to say, I miss you SO SO SO much and I *really* hope we can get our team back together to do something like this again. This time you’ll be my training roll model. Your slow and steady training kicked my sporadic training’s butt.
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 10:17 am
I dunno Emmie, if you did what you did with sporadic training, then hat’s off to you! Just driving your last leg made me tired! xoxo
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May 5th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Absolutely inspiring, Christine. You are making me want to tackle a 5K - walking, not running, but still!
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Go for it Susan! A 5K is a 5K, no matter how you perambulate!
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May 5th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
You did so fabulously, Christine. I watched as you trained hard and improved because of your dedication. We laughed and said you sandbagged your pace, but it was truly a compliment that you ended up being so much stronger than you thought you’d be. I am glad that I was part of your first team and even happier that you were my pink-twin for our fabulous uniform!
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
That’s so funny K — I was truly shocked when I saw that my first leg was 9:30/mile because that is not a pace I normally operate at for a 5-miler. My next two legs were really hard in different ways (that’s for another post) so the final 8:30 redemption mile was a freak of nature, and also very necessary for me psychologically I think.
I’m glad we were pink twins too. Shredheads unite!
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May 5th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I loved being your teammate. And cheering you on. Hope to do it again soon!
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 5th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
We’re totally going to rock this party again soon. xo
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May 5th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
So very proud of you, Christine! You took this journey on with such gusto, and it was a pleasure to follow your progress. Love that team shot - you earned your spot for sure!!! xxoo
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Thank you Jane! And your encouragement through the rough training patches was more helpful than you know. xo
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May 5th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
I am so incredibly grateful that you are part of my universe, Christine! It sounds like an amazing experience … and the uniforms ARE cute!
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May 5th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
SO proud of you! My husband did a race like this a few years ago and I know how much work goes into it. He also had an amazing, life-changing time doing it, and I’m so glad you did too!
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Thank you C! And I’m really looking forward to a 5K with you sometime in the future.
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May 5th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Congratulations to you, and to the entire team! You guys are all amazing, and I so wish I could have been there too. As another former non-athlete, I share your joy at accomplishing a goal that neither of us could have envisioned 20+ years ago.
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Christine Koh Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Julie, not sure if you remember, but that invite came to me while we were in Utah for the BAA retreat. I hold you very responsible for growing a pair and opting in to the relay. I hope we can do a race like this together in the future!
Also, had no idea your bad ass triathalon self also is a former non-athlete. Hugely inspiring. We clearly keep getting better with age.
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May 5th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Yay you (and your team)!
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May 5th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
First off, I’m glad my son’s Science Olympiad team had t-shirts. Maybe I need to look into matching pants for next year?
I’ve seen your tweets about running, but always assumed you were just a runner. Your story is inspiring!
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May 6th, 2010 at 12:46 am
You were a fab teammate! I loved meeting and hanging with you in the Accadia 1 van for 30 some odd hours. Until next time, my dear! Keep up the good work (running and yoga - we have that training program in common)
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May 6th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Yay!!! I’m so glad you signed up and went with me on this crazy journey. I didn’t realize until the race that being a part of team meant so much to you and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it! Thanks for being my rock and fabulous Eat Blog Run designer! I can’t wait to do this with you again soon!
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May 8th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Good for you! That’s awesome.
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May 8th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
[...] anyone ever asks me why I blog, I will probably just point them to this post. And probably to this one too. And all of the ones here. After a lifetime of declaring that I was incapable of running, [...]
May 9th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
You just defied your lie. Awesome. Inspiring.
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July 9th, 2010 at 11:17 am
[...] An obvious solution to both Problems B and C would be to get up earlier and run while it’s still (sort of) cool out and before Jon and Laurel are up. My Shredheads pal Bill does this admirably (5am…dude!) and I have tried this on occasion, but I can never really stick to it. My body just doesn’t seem ready to go for a run at that time (unless, of course, I am operating on two hours of sleep and wearing a pink sparkle skirt). [...]
September 29th, 2010 at 8:57 am
[...] thought it was fitting to take some shots in workout gear this week. I discovered my inner athlete rather late in life but became very committed in my late 20’s I’ve been committed to fitness since that point [...]
November 24th, 2010 at 8:40 am
[...] to chase the carrot, as it were, running 5Ks, a 5-miler, and most notably, the crazing amazing 200-mile relay journey I ran as part of Eat. Blog. [...]
September 12th, 2011 at 9:03 am
[...] (my issue, I know). Because once I did get around to violin lessons it was so solitary and I always dreamed of being part of a team (again, my issue, I know). Because Laurel has perfectionist tendencies and I don’t want her to be [...]