Okay, so it's been a few months since I've written a new entry, and I have to say, I'm coming back sheepishly. Not only do I rarely finish what I start, but I'm really embarassed when I don't. I hate that I do that. But anyway.
So I guess I'll get on with the excuses, now. I was really busy with school and interning and working from March until May (Oh yeah, and hiking in the Grand Canyon). During that time, I crossed over into the "dark side" of training and dieting, which is to say, the point of zero motivation. This includes infrequent trips to the SERF, Ben & Jerry's on many a stressful day, feeling like there was no possible way I'd ever be prepared for this 5K, coffee for breakfast, etc. Who wants to write about that? It's depressing.
But this is a blog about my progress as a runner. Or as the case may be right now, runner-to-be. So enough about that.
Since school has been out, I've had a lot of time for exercise. It's been amazing. I started out slow, going only a few days a week and staying for 30 min max. Within a few weeks, I was staying for an hour or more, sometimes twice a day. I also joined an Ultimate Frisbee league, which includes a lot of running. We play twice a week. I'm not in great shape yet, and I'm still pretty close to the highest weight that I've EVER been at, but I feel great.
Running. It's my kryptonite. I've mastered just about all of the cardio machines: stairmaster, stationary bike, elliptical, rowing simulator, you name it. I feel like I can do them indefinitely. But running is the most difficult thing I've ever tried to do. I've surprised myself in the past couple of weeks by running further than I thought I could. Many times. But I'm still not feeling prepared for a 5K; the one big hurdle I have left to jump is a mental one.
I never used to notice runners, but now I see them all the time. I see them everywhere and I always think "what does that person have that I don't?". Sometimes the answer is obvious. Most of them weigh at least 40 pounds less than I do. I'd like to see them try to run with a toddler on their back! But I've also seen runners that are my size or bigger, which just boggles my mind. Again, I have to wonder why they can be runners and I can't. And there's no definitive answer to that. My guess is that they can run because they aren't thinking "there's no way I can do this" while they're lacing up their tennis shoes.
It's all mental, and in that respect, I have a long way to go. I'm going to keep trying, though. I surprised myself when I agreed to try running in a 5K, I surprised myself when I ran a full mile (once), I surprised myself when I was able to run around the Capitol three times in one day (with some walking in between of course), and I'm going to keep surprising myself until I finally finish what I started.
1 month ago
