On January 29 I will begin "officially" training for the CapCity Half Marathon which will be run the first weekend in May. That's not to say that I'm not already running, as there is some build up to be done in order to insure that I'm able to move along in the training at an appropriate pace and be ready to run. But as anyone who has run, and then stopped knows, getting started again is always the hardest part.
Now it really shouldn't be that difficult should it? As most people who enjoy running, or who enjoyed running, will tell you, when you run you feel good. You sleep better, you eat better, your body generally feels better. So why is it that, when you take a break from running, it's always so difficult to get started again?
I was talking to a co-worker yesterday. She had been running last summer and fall and had to stop for personal reasons. She talked about how she really needed to get back to running. She talked about how much better she felt when she was running. How she was less irritable, weighed less, ate better, slept better. She even talked about how much worse she felt now than she did when she was running. But for some reason, and I'm just as guilty as everyone else, getting motivated to do something that has proven itself to make you feel better, is difficult. How is it that we can complain about feeling bad, know what it takes to make us feel better, yet not do it?
So I'm running again. Today was a day that I did not want to get out of bed at 4:00am in order to run before work. I was very tempted to reset the alarm for 5:00am and go back to sleep. But I also knew that if I gave in today, that would make it easier to give in tomorrow and so on and so on and so on.
I'm not as good a runner as I was two years ago. I hope to one day get back to that point, but if I don't that's ok too. What I DON'T want to do is ever again get to the point where I have to force myself to start running again. I enjoy running. I like the way I feel when I've completed a run. There really is a "runner's high". It's not imaginary, it does exist. It really does help your body to deal with stress in a positive way. It does happen. It's not imaginary. It really does help you to sleep better. It does happen. It's not imgaginary.
Now I know those people who say they don't like to run. I used to be one of those people. That was back in the days when I HAD to run. When, instead of waking up at 4:00am to the sound of my alarm, I woke up at 4:00am to the sound of a screaming drill sergeant. That was a time that I was told that I WOULD run on the cross country team at school, like it or not.
Now I run for MY OWN enjoyment. I run because I like to run. I run because it makes ME feel better. Don't get me wrong. I've had those bad days. Days when I'm running and thinking to myself, "I don't want to be here." But it's when I've finished that I always feel better. Regardless of how good or bad I felt during the run. I ALWAYS feel better after the run. Yes, I do get sore sometimes. But it's a "good" sore. It's the kind of sore that makes me feel that sense of accomplishment. And for those LONG runs...there's always the ice bath to take care of the soreness.
Now it really shouldn't be that difficult should it? As most people who enjoy running, or who enjoyed running, will tell you, when you run you feel good. You sleep better, you eat better, your body generally feels better. So why is it that, when you take a break from running, it's always so difficult to get started again?
I was talking to a co-worker yesterday. She had been running last summer and fall and had to stop for personal reasons. She talked about how she really needed to get back to running. She talked about how much better she felt when she was running. How she was less irritable, weighed less, ate better, slept better. She even talked about how much worse she felt now than she did when she was running. But for some reason, and I'm just as guilty as everyone else, getting motivated to do something that has proven itself to make you feel better, is difficult. How is it that we can complain about feeling bad, know what it takes to make us feel better, yet not do it?
So I'm running again. Today was a day that I did not want to get out of bed at 4:00am in order to run before work. I was very tempted to reset the alarm for 5:00am and go back to sleep. But I also knew that if I gave in today, that would make it easier to give in tomorrow and so on and so on and so on.
I'm not as good a runner as I was two years ago. I hope to one day get back to that point, but if I don't that's ok too. What I DON'T want to do is ever again get to the point where I have to force myself to start running again. I enjoy running. I like the way I feel when I've completed a run. There really is a "runner's high". It's not imaginary, it does exist. It really does help your body to deal with stress in a positive way. It does happen. It's not imaginary. It really does help you to sleep better. It does happen. It's not imgaginary.
Now I know those people who say they don't like to run. I used to be one of those people. That was back in the days when I HAD to run. When, instead of waking up at 4:00am to the sound of my alarm, I woke up at 4:00am to the sound of a screaming drill sergeant. That was a time that I was told that I WOULD run on the cross country team at school, like it or not.
Now I run for MY OWN enjoyment. I run because I like to run. I run because it makes ME feel better. Don't get me wrong. I've had those bad days. Days when I'm running and thinking to myself, "I don't want to be here." But it's when I've finished that I always feel better. Regardless of how good or bad I felt during the run. I ALWAYS feel better after the run. Yes, I do get sore sometimes. But it's a "good" sore. It's the kind of sore that makes me feel that sense of accomplishment. And for those LONG runs...there's always the ice bath to take care of the soreness.
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