Let's Talk About Running......

I have always hated running. No, hate is not a strong enough word.....I absolutely loathe running.

In fact, when I was in Jr. High I got my first A- (which was a huge deal for me because it wrecked my perfect GPA) because I failed the mile run.  How do you fail a mile run you ask?  Well, you don't complete it-that's how!  Yeah, I was that girl.  I was the last one huffing and puffing my way through the mile, and couldn't finish it.  Now, I can honestly say I thought I was going to die when I was running it because I do have asthma and have had it almost my entire life.  So I honestly couldn't run it.

I was traumatized by that experience and I actually got a note from my asthma doctor and didn't have to take PE in high school. It was great.  Did I really need to be excused from PE? No, not really.  Looking back, I'm pretty sure I was just lazy and used my asthma as an excuse.

Now, back to the present.  I still have asthma.  I still hate to run.

I no longer despise running. I actually kind of like it.  I decided to start up this very daunting form of exercise about 6 weeks ago.  One day, I decided I am going to run a mile. For real. Actually complete a mile without stopping and run the entire distance.  I had my husband measure the distance on our road and then I ran.  I ran.  I mean I really ran.  The ENTIRE distance.  This was HUGE. This was MOMENTOUS! I have never ever in my entire 26 years of living done such a thing! When I finished I felt like dying.  No, I thought I WAS going to die.  But I did it.  And that's all it took.  I now have the running fever.  I actually enjoy it.  I actually look forward to running.

But lets talk about my running.  I am a slow runner.  I mean extremely slow.  That very first mile I ran, it took me about 13 minutes to complete.  But, six weeks later my time has improved.  In fact, today I ran my fastest mile. I ran it in 10:58.  Which blows my mind.

I only run 1 mile at a time.  I think I have this mental block that says you must only run one mile, or you will die of exhaustion.  So I am really going to try and increase my distance each week.  My goal is to be able to run a 5k by the end of the summer.  If you would have asked me 3 months ago that I wanted to run a 5k, I would have told you that you were out of your ever-loving mind. Now, I know it's possible. I know I will be able to do it and I know I won't actually die doing it!