Running for Ethel

When I was little, I liked sports.  I was super-competitive, although I was never the fastest or the most athletic.  I had this pink panther dirt bike that I would take over these steep hills in neighborhood fields.  Each time I fell, my grandmother picked me up.  “Grand-baby,” she would say.  “Why do you keep hurting yourself?”  Being six, seven, or eight, I had the typical response, “I don’t know.”  She would laugh, then mend my wounds and tell me, “That fearless drive of yours will take you far.  But every time you hurt yourself, it hurts me.  So please be careful.”

I miss her.  And she was right.  That drive has helped me over the years…especially when it comes to running.  See, I never used to like running.  But because of the health benefits, it’s a hobby I picked up about three years ago.

Did you know that people can significantly lower their risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes just by walking or running?  It’s true.   According to a recent study by the American Heart Association:

• Running significantly reduced the risk for being diagnosed with hypertension by 4.2% while walking reduced the risk by 7.2%.
• Running reduced the chances of having high cholesterol by 4.3% and walking by 7%.
• Running lowered risk of diabetes by 12.1% while walking dropped the risk by 12.3%.
• Running reduced coronary heart disease risk by 4.5% compared to 9.3% for walking.

I don’t have heart disease, but my grandmother did.   She started having strokes, heart attacks and was diagnosed with diabetes when I was in my teens.   Sadly, she was in her early 60′s when she died.  Seconds before she died, she encouraged me to take control of my health—heart and soul.

And in honor of that promise to my grandmother, I hit the pavement in the Pensacola Double Bridge Run this past weekend.  Described as a bucket-list run for the leisure and professional runner, the race consists of 9.3 miles over two bodies of water, two bridges, and two cities.

30,000 runners participated in the event.  It started bright and early Saturday morning, February 1.  The race was broken down into corrals.  Each runner had to pick the corral or group to run in based on how has fast they expected to run a mile.   I headed for the 11-min mile marker.  I average a 9-min mile pace, but I hadn’t been running in months, so I wanted to ease back into things.

There were so many smiling faces.  One guy was dressed as Fred Flintstone and ran the course in his bare feet.  Then another participant had a GoPro camera strapped to his back, to capture every moment of the run (I wonder if he got the porpoises splashing in the water?)

As with any run, you tend to hit a wall.  My wall came near the end at mile eight.  I was “running” along, appropriating the third incline when I looked to my right and saw two older women “walking.”  I said to them, “Well I must be going slow if I call myself running and you guys are walking.”  So I decided to join them, and take a walk as well.

I didn’t’ have the best time.  But in the end I burned more than 800 calories and did a major favor for my heart.

I hate heart disease.  I hate all the pain and suffering it brings.  But I do know that despite your genetic makeup, you CAN keep the insidious condition from wreaking havoc on your body or harming the ones that you love.

Running, walking, just moving to where you get your heart-rate level going can do wonders for the body.  Sure there will be times when you fall, but you have to get back up and remind yourself why you are putting in the miles.

For me, I’m running for Ethel.