Physical Education

I'd guess that, for a majority of folks, Physical Education classes are something distasteful. Maybe you needed an easy class to make a certain number of credit hours, or maybe you needed a fluffy class to round out a difficult semester. Most of you probably found sweating at inconvenient times to be distasteful. Unless you're a jock, it's likely that phys ed served you little purpose.

Sometimes, though, this class is not an end, but a beginning. Occasionally, it begins a habit that becomes a life-long pursuit instead of a semester-long chore. This is the case with my experience with college Phys Ed. I took it as a spare class over a summer semester. The workload was trivial, the assignments were all online. I managed to convince the coach that being the primary caregiver for multiple children counted as strength training (he had three boys, so he understood my logic).

The only thing about that class that presented any sort of challenge at all was the aerobics component. Naturally, I would have chosen to ride my bike to fulfill that requirement, but it was in dire need of service that I had neither the time nor the inclination for. I did have time to make a quick trip to Academy and grab a pair of running shoes. They were also quite a bit cheaper than the bike parts I needed.

The class requirement was something like thirty minutes of aerobics a day. Running fit the bill perfectly. Of course, my form was horrible, I didn't really stretch, and I had no idea what I was doing. But none of that really mattered, because I was moving. That's the great thing I received from that class - the knowledge that I could make thirty minutes or an hour every morning to go run. This tool has made all the difference for me. Phys Ed became a semicolon instead of a period.

The first half) year that I ran, I really didn't take it too seriously. I would run when it was convenient, usually not go very far, and take however long I wanted to. No big. Last year, I started to get serious. I got a subscription to Runner's World, bought new shoes, and started "training". Mostly, I still ran when I wanted to, whatever distance I felt like (normally four miles), and in whatever time didn't make me puke. Near the end of the year, I decided that I wanted to do a half-marathon, and nearly signed up for the DRC Half in November. Boy, am I glad I didn't.

I almost immediately over-trained. My shinsplints, never really controlled during my short runs, came out with a vengeance after several eight-milers. Two weeks of recklessly upping my mileage quickly ended any running season I may have aspired to. I was ashamed with myself - my pride had done me in.

This year (as they say) will be different. I'm planning on doing three half marathons; the Dallas Rock 'n' Roll half on March 27 (I will probably walk a lot), the White Rock Half on May 7, and the DRC Half in November. I plan on running a 5-k or two and a 10-k or two between halves (halfs?) to check my fitness. I pledge to not over-train, under-eat, or worry too much about my negative splits. Having fun and setting up a benchmark of fitness will be the order of the day.

All of this motivation, and all because I didn't have time to fix my bike one day. Funny ol' world, isin't it?

Cheers,

-- Zach