I hate starting to run. I hate putting on the running clothes, going out the door, and feeling my heart pound during the warmup. I hate how I don’t run as fast as other people, and how sometimes even music doesn’t motivate me to push myself. I hate how my legs are short and I’m not aerodynamic.
But, when I’m in the middle of running, it’s not so bad and I start thinking I can finish this mile, and towards the end, it gets really, really good.
My entire life, I’ve always been striving for something in school-an A on the next test, a perfectly-completed homework assignment and, when I graduated, I started feeling empty, like I had no goals to push for. Running gives me a very good pushback. At least until I apply for grad school.
So, after the success I had at my last 5k, and all the training I did, I ran a second one on July 4, this time not alone.
That’s right. I convinced Mr. B to start running! And Mr. B’s mom, well, I didn’t need to convince her. I think she would have kept going if the route was longer. Probably would have run all the way to New York City and then come back to bike some more.
This particular 5k was lots of fun because there were so many people and everyone was in the holiday spirit. The day was beautiful and we ran along the Delaware River separating Pennsylvania from New Jersey. And, afterwards, there was watermelon.
It was also very exciting because I made it through the whole race without walking, and shaved 4 minutes off of my time, to finish just ahead of a 74-year-old man. Mr. B, of course, after only running for two weeks, finished at the top of his age bracket. Mr. B’s mom and I yelled at him for that one. Men.
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Some men can be SO inconsiderate like that.
Good job on the 5K! Keep it up!
You’re absolutely right, the hardest thing about running is getting out there. Once I have my gym clothes and running shoes on, it’s much harder to decide not to follow through. In the middle of a run, I always say to myself — Okay, Jane, you’ve run this much, how about another 5 minutes … and then another … and then another. I can go for about an hour now with a small walking warm-up.
Thanks for your support. Can you believe it? We’re running again in August.