running and running.

I was never a runner.  When it came time to run the mile in gym class, I usually walked it.  I joined track in middle school and the first year of high school to run hurdles; every work out over 400m was a nightmare.  I have never enjoyed running, or gotten a runners high.  Two years, ago, I decided to sign up for a 5k.  I told myself it would be good for me, and I had dreams of becoming a celebrated marathon runner, surprising everyone around me.  I wanted to prove to the people who laughed at my athletic abilities (even myself) that I could do it.

So I did.  I bought training programs.  I made running playlists and bought shoes and tried to watch what I ate.  I ran outside.  I ran inside.  I dreaded every workout and hated every workout I finished.  I never felt like I'd had a "good" run, I was never excited to run, and I kept counting down the days until it was over.

Six months after I had signed up, I lined up to start the race with two good friends from high school.  It was the Color Run, and if you've ever ran one, not much running can happen during them.  It was slow.  I walked a lot.  I struggled with the jogging.  I got absolutely covered in color powder and I had fun with my best friend, but I was so glad when it was over.  I hated running.  I'd run a 5K, I'd proven that I could, and that was the end of it.

Over the next year, I followed Nicole's journey as she kept running further, and more often, and making lifestyle changes, and I was more and more envious.  If she could go from not being a runner, to being a marathoner, couldn't I?

A year after my first 5K, I put on my running shoes and went for a run.  It was just under a mile, I didn't run the whole time, and I still hated it.  I still loathed every step I took and never wanted to do it again.

Last fall, I had a friend ask me to do a 5K with her.  I laughed in her face.  My running days were over - no more 5K's for me.  I tried it, and I'd accepted that running just wasn't for me.  I jokingly told my mom I'd run one with her as she worked towards losing weight.  She took me up on it.  With no offense intended to Mom, I thought I'd be fine.  It'd been at least 10 years since she'd gone running - I would be fine.  Nathan signed up with us, in February, we made the commitment to do it.

I was pretty lax in my running.  I went to the rec, would put West Wing on my iPad, and run for the length of an episode.  With bad knees, low impact on the elliptical worked for me.  It wasn't until two weeks before the 5K was scheduled to happen that I was able to get outside and actually run.

On my first run, I used MapMyFitness and went just over a mile.  It went okay.  The next time went even better.  The third time was awful, but the fourth one was okay.  Yesterday, I ran a 5K.  I ran 95% of it.  I helped my Mom do something she didn't think she'd do.  I told Nathan I'd run three more so I could get the MN Run jacket (I can be bribed).  I don't know if it was timing, or doing something for someone else, but I gained an appreciation for running.  I figured out what time of day makes me feel less miserable when I run.  I learned that I like running to Hugh Laurie's jazzy-blues albums instead of upbeat music or audiobooks.  I'm not a "runner" yet by any means, but I'm getting there, and I finally am getting an understanding of the phrase "it's all about timing".

(And you bet I wore the Under Armour that made me feel like running!)