Running

I am not a runner. I guess in high school I did run a 10k once; but it was just on a whim. I found out about it the night before when a friend of my sister said she was running it. I got up that morning having done no training what soever and ran the 10k in 55 minutes. It was fun. But then trying to run another later I quit after a few miles, it almost seemed like a fluke that my body let me run the 10k on that one day.

So, though I'm not a runner, I've always like the idea of running. When I was younger I was a lot more involved with religious stuff. I used to think about what heaven might be like. At that time I though it would be great if in heaven you could run and run and never get tired. And there would be music all around almost if inside you head (good rock music btw). While I'm not nearly as in to religion as back then, the idea of being able to run without getting tired is still very appealing to me.

I've been trying to do some running this year. In fact last weekend I ran with a torch as part of the "torch run" for the State of Nebraska Cornhusker State Games. But, I really hated it. I had been working at running a one mile segment. When I signed up I had to specify an estimate of how long it would take me and I put 10 minutes, not really having any idea. While doing my training I was really working on being able to do it in 10 minutes - too fast really for what I should have been doing. Two days before the run I then found out I was going to be doing 2 miles!!! Great.

The day of the run came. It wasn't terribly hot, but windy with it blowing in my face. It got to my turn and I started up a hill. I was running the pace I had been doing for 1 mile. It actually felt really good for the first minute, but then my mouth just dried up and my body was tired. I was out of breath and my dry mouth made it hard to regain it even after slowing down. I crested over the top of the hill which felt better, but still could not keep moisture in my mouth. Jsut short of the 1 mile mark I switched to a walk. I hated doing this. I felt like I had to run my pace of 10 minutes per mile. There was a pace van in front and the guy slowed down next to me and got me water which helped. I'll spare the rest of the details, but at about the 1.25 mile mark the van driver switched with me and ran the last 3/4 of a mile. I hated it.

But..... I'm still running. I was stupid about the pace I tried to run considering my current body. In the last 6 days since that run I have gone out 4 times. For the first one I just mean to walk but found my body wanting to run. For the second third and fourth time I went out meaning to run but decided to go slow. Really not much faster than my fast walk. And each of these times I've ran over 2 miles and even been able to sprint a block at the end of the run. It feels GREAT!

So do I like running? I don't really know. But I am trying to lose weight and live a healthier life. Running does work my body and I need to do that. Tonight my son went with me too on his bike and that was a lot of fun for both of us. I'm gonna keep doing it this summer, maybe working on getting a little faster or perhaps for a longer distance. And maybe, just maybe, I'll even try to run a 5k later this summer. A little motivation like that might be helpful.