A Long-Term Relationship

With running that is ;)

We've had an on-again, off-again relationship for about 4 years now.  Before that I had avoided running because it seemed so intimidating. I had admired runners for years but thought it was out of my league. I am definitely not built like a runner and I was afraid to try because I was sure I would fail.

In 2008 one of my best friends and I decided to sign up for the Army Run 5K and I finally had a reason to give it a shot. I remember how we were both in awe that we were doing this, and the tremendous feeling of accomplishment when we finished that race. But that new-relationship glow faded after the race. Without anything to train for I lost interest in running and went back to my regular gym routine.

It wasn't until 8 months later that I revisited running, this time signing up for a 10k race. And boy was that race awful! The entire time I kept thinking to myself "Why am I doing this?!" and "I will never run again after this race!" So once again, I broke up with running. I told myself it just wasn't meant to be and gave up on being one of those people I had admired for so long.

In 2010 my sister-in-law decided she wanted to run the Army Run 5K. I had such great memories of that race that I decided to do it with her. And it was just as fantastic as the first time. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we decided to do the half-marathon at that same race the following year.

Unfortunately my training for that half-marathon did not go as planned. I ended up injuring my knee and falling the week the before the race and hurting my tailbone (have my mentioned I am a total klutz? cause I am!). My sister-in-law was going through some health issues of her own so we ended up walking that half-marathon. I have to say that was a lot of fun and I would totally walk a half again. But I still couldn't get the thought of running a half out of my mind.

And that is why I entered the lottery for the NYC Half.  What better place to run my first half than in one of my favorite cities in the world? So when I found out I got in, I vowed to make it happen this time. I surprised myself with how diligently I followed my training plan and somewhere along the line I realized I had truly falling in love with running.

I was afraid I would lose that feeling once the half was over. But after taking a week off from running, I was eager to get back to it today. I did an easy 5 miles on the treadmill and it felt so good :) My next race is not until September, when I'll be running the Army Run Half-Marathon, but I know I will continue to run consistently over the next few months.  I am finally ready to commit to running. And I have a feeling this time it's going to last ;)

Has your relationship with running been smoother than mine?