Paceline People
2 June 2010
New Year's Resolution Pays Off
By Sarah Royds
With a nasty hangover on 1 January 2009 I made a list of New Year’s resolutions about the year ahead, a little in jest and never considering what direction my life would go within the next 18 months. The top three on the wish list were 1) lose weight – 30kgs, 2) do an evening course and 3) learn to run. While browsing the newly delivered Mosman Evening College guide I found a course that could assist me to tackle the top resolutions in one swoop and I enrolled to do the Paceline Learn to Run course Feb 2009. At the same time I started closely assessing what I ate and drank and adopted a mantra of “I can”. Over the next 6 weeks, going to the course was my highest priority and I ran on my own for two other days each week as suggested and the kilos started to move. With the assistance and patience of the course instructor and co-students, I found myself at the end of the course stunned that I could run 5-7 kms consistently and actually enjoy it!
By Sarah Royds
With a nasty hangover on 1 January 2009 I made a list of New Year’s resolutions about the year ahead, a little in jest and never considering what direction my life would go within the next 18 months. The top three on the wish list were 1) lose weight – 30kgs, 2) do an evening course and 3) learn to run. While browsing the newly delivered Mosman Evening College guide I found a course that could assist me to tackle the top resolutions in one swoop and I enrolled to do the Paceline Learn to Run course Feb 2009. At the same time I started closely assessing what I ate and drank and adopted a mantra of “I can”. Over the next 6 weeks, going to the course was my highest priority and I ran on my own for two other days each week as suggested and the kilos started to move. With the assistance and patience of the course instructor and co-students, I found myself at the end of the course stunned that I could run 5-7 kms consistently and actually enjoy it!
I challenged and motivated myself throughout the year by running as often as possible with the Paceline group and friends I’d met on the course. I committed to myself to do an event a month (either running or cycling) to keep my fitness and new found skill of running present - local fun runs, gear up girl bike rides, the great NOSH, the pub to pub, city to surf, Syd to Gong etc. By November, I participated in a Paceline hills training course, where I bragged to Susan and Anne that I’d now lost 27kgs since February and it was then that they put the unthinkable thought into my head of doing a half marathon in May – 7 months away. I was aghast and it took me about a month to think I might be able to do it, or at least join the training program on offer.
In January 2010, I filled my new diary in with the half marathon training run dates and devoted myself completely. On the first night of training, we were asked what we wanted out of the course and I answered that I just wanted to try and finish. About half way through the course I took the word “try” out and fully believed I could do it.
We had gradually built up our long runs from approx 10kms at the beginning of the course to 19kms - only needing to run a further 2kms complete the half. On the day those last 1500ms were some of the most determined metres of my new exercise filled life and by the time I finished (or at least after the time it took me to recover) and reflect on my journey, I was telling strangers and loved ones in waves of exhilarated happiness and tear-filled disbelief that I that “I ran a half marathon.. MEEEE!!!”
I have lost 32kgs from where I’d started and made some amazing new supportive running friends and feel like a completely different person. I have my second half marathon booked on the gold coast next month and planning another in September and very very strangely, seriously considering a triathlon at the end of the year.. god forbid if the New York ballot allow me in to the marathon in 2011. what the…!!! Me????!!!.
