Marion Landry always exercised and watched what she ate, even as a teenager.
She learned in her high school physical education classes that she likes the way she looks and feels when she stays active, but she never really had a favorite sport.
“I was no good at anything,” she says.
Landry tried softball and basketball, to no avail. She made a stab at tennis a little later in life, but really didn’t have the upper-body strength to play well.
But in her mid-40s, with her children grown and out of the house, she realized speedwalking was getting a little dull. She decided she wanted to run, and she’s barely stopped since.
“I frequently tell people that running makes me who I am,” she says. “If I’m not able to run, I cannot be at my best.”
Landry’s first race was the 1995 Corporate Cup 5K, but she became “extremely competitive” in the early 2000s, when she started training with a coach for the 2003 National Senior Games in Hampton Roads, Va. She finished third nationally in her age group in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter races.
Landry also has won a number of local races over the years. She hasn’t been as competitive lately, but she still gets in a run three to four times a week for three to five miles each time. And she still enjoys doing “speed work”: running as hard as she can for 100 meters at a time.
She doesn’t recommend a running regimen for other people, however, because of the risk of injury; she says walking is much safer. Weights are fine, as long as you’re smart about it and don’t push too hard.
“If it hurts, don’t do it,” she says. “‘No pain, no gain’ is a bunch of bull. But you can get burn. The burn is OK.”
Landry was nursing a stress fracture on her right big toe earlier this month. Fortunately, she has a recumbent bike for cardio in her home gym, along with her free weights, her Stair Climber and a treadmill she rarely uses, since she’d rather be outside running. Injured or not, she is going to find a way to stay active.
“I am totally addicted to exercise,” Landry says. “When I don’t exercise, I am not happy.”
Landry manages the information systems department for Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company, and she says the results-oriented approach she has always taken toward running translates well in a work environment.
She jokes that her co-workers probably try to avoid her when she hasn’t been running, as her outlook on life isn’t quite as sunny when she isn’t getting her regular endorphin fix.
“I’m looking forward to running again in January,” she says. “I do have to be careful, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to get back, no matter what.”
