Commentary: My struggle with running

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Heather Thomas
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  When I first joined the military, the fitness assessment was a bike test, for which you really didn't necessarily need to be in shape.  Shortly thereafter, the Air Force transitioned to the running test.  At that time, the waist measurement was worth a majority of the points, so I could technically walk the mile and a half and still pass.  Shortly after I gave birth to my second child, everything changed, and my struggles began.  My waist was no longer small, and, to make matters worse, the test was altered again!  New minimum standards for each component of the test were established.  I spent years struggling to pass the run.  I never failed, but was always a few seconds from it.  I knew, in the back of my mind, that the day would come that I would fail.

In high school, I was a sprinter.  I was never a long-distance runner, so one-and-a-half miles took forever.  I tried running two miles with friends to prep for my test.  It helped me pass once, but it was not a long-term solution.  After being stationed at RAF Lakenheath for two years, I heard about the Run Well program.  There, I learned about good running form and how to stretch properly so my body wouldn't be sore for days.  In the beginning, the workouts were not easy.  I performed sprint and distance running and "fartlek" training, which combines continuous and interval training.  I worked with a variety of people whose encouragement kept me going.  I learned how to control my breathing, which helped to get rid of the "side stitches" I would get when running.

I started concentrating on the steps I was taking and not how fast I was moving.  I was still worried about my time and struggled with taking off too fast.  After finishing my second Run Well class, I dropped almost two minutes from my run time.  I started enjoying distance running.  It became relaxing and not just an obstacle.  I started running for leisure on Saturdays with the run club.  As my confidence grew, so did my competitive nature.  As a result, I trained for a 10K.  I wanted to see if I could finish and not be the last finisher.  It was a fun race, and I earned a medal.  I decided I liked getting medals and wanted more; as a result, I competed in several more races.  Less than one year after I started running, I ran my first half-marathon with tons of support from the friends I met along the way.  It might have been a little premature, but I did it!  I finished that race and have the medal to prove it.

As my physical fitness test drew near, I began worrying as usual.  I thought to myself, "I can now run slow, long distances, but cannot run a quick mile-and-a-half, and a slow time will not help me pass the PT test."  I returned to the Run Well clinic six weeks before my PT test, one year after I began running with success.  It was a lot easier than I ever thought it would be, and I enjoyed the same encouragement from a variety of people performing at different levels.  This time, I really mastered consistency in my running and pacing, and, as a result, more than halfway through my Air Force career, I ran my best time yet. 

For more information on the Run Well program at RAF Lakenheath, contact the Health Promotion Office at DSN: 226-2710 or check out the RUFit Spiritual Resiliency Tools on the www.lakenheath.af.mil website.