Why I Decided to Start Running Again

It's true. After a 3-year hiatus from long-distance running, I made the somewhat impulsive decision to sign up for a 20k race this July. Why? This collage on the cover of one of my old running logs says it all. At least it tries to. Haha! For me, the answer is a two-parter. Jen from Jen Loves Kev expressed the first part perfectly when she said,  "I run to train for races." Running hurts. I think we all learn this from a pretty young age. But so does weight lifting, and squash, and even yoga sometimes. There is no greater motivation for me to get off my butt and work out than an upcoming race. As hard as I try, exercise never takes a priority in my life unless I have committed to a race. The second part is the special wave of emotion and joy that only comes from finishing a race, crossing that line, accomplishing that goal that at one time seemed impossible. I get chocked up just thinking about finishing a marathon. And the only way to get there is to train. See how that works? It's a love/hate relationship that you may call crazy, but to me, and many others that call themselves runners, it works.

So now that running and I are back together again, I guess you're wondering how it's going. To be honest, our first date was a disaster. I set out to run only 3k and ended up stopping to walk around 2k because my knee was pinching and then I started to feel nauseous, which persisted half an hour after I got home. Not a good start. It was the week following the One of a Kind Show, so I think I may have still been a little run down. (Pardon the pun.) The good news is, every run since then has felt great! I've been progressing slowly, for fear of irritating an old knee injury, so after 4 weeks I'm just now logging 5k.

Speaking of logging, although I will miss the super cool motivational cover, gone are the days of handwritten notebook entries. I'm now using a fancy dancy app called RunKeeper. It uses the GPS on your phone to track your route, mileage, pace, and time all at once. Genius. Of course this raised new challenges, like how to carry my phone while running. How did I ever survive with a clunky, skipping Discman in my hand? Crafty girl that I am, I made a running belt for it, which is basically just a zipper pouch with a loop on the back that I slid a wide elastic through and sewed to a buckle from an old fanny pack. Problem solved.

What about you? Are you a runner? Are you training for any races this year?