Surprise! I’m still running

The woman who hates running is still running. I know. I’m shocked.love hate running

Confession: I am a chronic goal setter. People ask how I stay motivated and I look at them like they’re speaking Klingon. How could I not be motivated? There are so many mico-goals to fulfill! My husband is the king of chill. He can avoid setting a goal for anything for weeks and feel content with himself. It’s equally fascinating and annoying.

Anyway, my first goal was to finish a 5k without feeling exhausted. Done. Then I aimed to finish a half marathon without dying. Done. Now I’ve got a 10k coming up I really want to improve my time.

It’s not that I care about being fast. I’m not a competitive person. I want to improve my time so that I can be one of those people who actually loves running. Currently, I run because:

  • I want to have a healthy heart and healthy lungs.
  • I think my legs look prettier when they have got muscle tone.
  • My inner chubby woman loves Krispy Kreme, sweet coffee drinks, wine, and Blow Pops. Without some form of exercise I’d have to roll everywhere.
  • I like buying and wearing spandex…which would be problematic if I didn’t work out because I love eating Krispy Kreme, sweet coffee drinks, wine, and Blow Pops.

Notice, I don’t run because I love running. I don’t love running because I’m a slow ass runner. Alejandro thinks it’s funny that my body is prepared to run all day but I get bored during long runs and want to throw myself in front of a car because I’m bored to death—but I’m stranded in the middle of a park in the middle of nowhere so I have to run to get out before sunset.

The solution, of course, is to learn to run faster and be more efficient. That way I can cover long runs in less time, get the health benefits, feel like a sexy beast, and not get bored because I’ve been running for two hours just trying to finish 6 miles.

My first speed goal: 10k in 70 minutes by May. That’s about 11.5-minute miles or 6mph. I ran the first eight miles of the half marathon between 5.3-5.7 mph (rookie mistake, running on hype more than pacing myself) so I think my goal is reasonable. I guess I’ll see!

My first practice run will be the Fallen Heroes of Georgia race at Lake Lanier on March 15. Woot woot! Wish me luck!

 

Share your thoughts or questions!