How I Went from Jogger to Athlete in Just a Few Weeks
And you can too, no matter your age or fitness level
Jogging is just slogging when you first start out. Pounding the pavement, huffing and puffing, no reward in sight. It’s demonstrably brutal. Unforgiving. Sweaty and demoralizing. A stark reminder that you’re not an athlete. I was there a few weeks ago, though not for the first time, trying to get back into running shape and once again run like the wind and enjoy that glorious runner’s high — yet wondering whether, at age 60, I even could.
Meanwhile, our youngest son, at age 21, signed up for a 10k, his first running race. He challenged me to join him, to at least do the event’s 5k.
I’ve been thrilled to be out there jogging again after a 15-year hiatus, thanks to yoga that recently put my chronic pain largely to rest. But race again? At my age? I thought back to my running days, how races motivated me to get in shape and stay in shape even though I never won a single event.
But that was then. This is now. And I’m slow.
Yet now I know something: Racing isn’t just about the race. It’s about the motivational power of a goal, a commitment you pay an entry fee for and announce to friends and family, the promise of a T-shirt emblazoned with your accomplishment, and the…
