The Whole Half - Week 5 - I Don't Enjoy Running and Might be Pretentious

I woke up this morning at 8:35. It was 34 degrees, and that was all the convincing I needed to skip my morning run and go to church early. Great decision. I got to hang out with my friend Kim, have brunch at Deep Fork Grill (delicious!), walk around Whole Foods Market and then buy some super cool gloves to keep my hands nice and toasty as I run this winter. When I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was run. It's cold and windy today! But I dug deep and pulled out the last little bit of motivation remaining in the depths of my soul.

The truth is that I don't really enjoy running all that much. I know this sounds strange from a girl training for a half marathon, but it's the truth. As a girl I hated running. I used to say that if I were being chased by a crazed murderer I would just sit down and say, "Get it over with, buddy," because if I'm going to die anyway, why would I want my last few moments on earth to be spent running? But a few years ago I caught the bug.

The running bug is something I still don't quite understand. There's something about running that speaks to me. Maybe it's the way that my competitive spirit can be satisfied like in no other sport. Let's be honest, I am not the most athletic person. Basketball? Not my thing. Volleyball? Super fun, but I'm terrible! And I wouldn't mind this so much if I weren't crazy competitive! I hate losing! Running is a sport where I have only myself to compete with. I set my own goals and then I win when I achieve them. I'm not going to be the fastest runner in the world. But who cares? When I run by myself or even in a race, I really don't care about what everyone else around me is doing. My goal is not to beat them. My goal is to beat myself. I want to beat my goals. I want to set my own personal record. And the more I run the more personal records I set.

But as to my previous point, I really don't like running. It's not what I would call "fun." It's not always the highlight of my day. I don't sit around thinking, "Man, I wish I were running. That's a good way to kill an afternoon." Running is exhausting for me and sometimes painful. But whatever the reason, I do it. And the rewards from a good run always outweigh the inconvenience of the run itself.

So I ran. My long run this week was 4 miles. I ran 4 miles two weeks ago, so I knew that I could. But last week was kind of a dud and I only did 2.6 miles. So I found a good podcast to listen to (my new battle against exhaustion - better than music!) and did my 4 miles without a hitch. And as I went on my run, I found a few differences between afternoon running and morning running.

Kids playing with light sabers - Even though it was 40 degrees outside, there were kids on their lawns playing with light sabers. It was cute and a great distraction.

People with dogs and babies - There are quite a few runners and walkers in the morning hours, but quite a few more in the afternoon hours. It seemed like every other block that I saw someone on the sidewalk with a stroller or a puppy or one of these bad boys:

Smiles - Every city has a feel to it, and in larger cities every neighborhood has a feel to it. My neighborhood has a very healthy, natural feel to it. Roll your eyes if you will, but the people in my neighborhood drive Priuses (Prium? Prii? What's the plural for Prius??) and eat organic everything. I'm not sure that I've ever gone a day without seeing a runner on the sidewalk, and Whole Foods was made for my neighbors. It's a part of the community that I live in, which is surprising because Oklahoma is one of the fattest states in America. But whatever the reason, my neighborhood is quite health conscious (or pretentious; take your pick). As I ran, I began to feel like I was a part of the community. People who I had never met or even seen before were smiling and waving at me. I think it was because they recognized me as "one of them," whatever that means. I'm not sure that I am one of them, but they obviously felt some sort of a connection with me and it was special. Most days I don't feel like I belong here. But today I really felt like maybe I could belong here. I'm wondering if that makes sense to anyone but me.

Anyways, this post is running long so I'll just say that the run went well. Maybe if I get some spare time over Thanksgiving Break I'll fill you in on the fun way I've found to do my cross-training days! Have a great week. Enjoy your friends and family.