You know how people like to say, “As long as you run, you’re a runner?” Well, if we’re being honest, they have yet to convince me. I’m not a born runner and from all the years of volleyball training (think short sprints and quick plyo movements) I never really developed any knack for it.
But now these days are over…
…and I don’t have any upcoming seasons or sprinting and lifting tests to prepare for. So what do I do?
It was a question I asked myself repeatedly when season first ended. I considered everything…except doing nothing or going to Zumba. “Nothing’ wasn’t possible. I love exercise. Pushing my body, testing my limits, and that oh-so-beautiful shaking sensation you get after an impossible workout all keeps me going. And then Zumba had to be avoided; a brick wall has more rhythm than this body.
I know I’ve mentioned that I read stalk several healthy-living blogs. There, sentences like, “I just went out for a quick 5 miles” are commonplace. But not for this girl, volleyball training never took me over a mile at a time. One measly mile. So while I happily threw myself into yoga and spinning, my relationship with running remained a bit tumultuous.
Running is hard. Hills make me want to die. Other runners frequently pass me. I require at least a million walking breaks.
Basically, it didn’t gel with my athletic ego. But then, in a freakish turn of events, that became its biggest selling point. It was (and is!) a challenge. And after four years of DI athletics, I sure do love a challenge.
Slowly, its other pro’s started drawing me in as well. There is no set class schedule; I can take off whenever I want and run for however long I want. I don’t need a gym membership or special equipment. And, above all, I keep finding myself in places like this…
So…I still can’t go for a “quick 5 miles”. I’ve actually never run that far in one outing. In fact, the runs where I feel like I really accomplished something look a lot more like this than most the blogs I follow,
But we’re each fighting our own battles right? This is mine for now, and one I intend to keep plugging away at.
I have started something about 6 weeks ago and it is working wonders for me. I live in Toronto, so I began with 1 city block. Every week I increase my run by 1 block. This forces me to get out there 3 times a week because missing 1 run will set me back. I find that I am able to run longer before I feel like dying and I am actuall able to pick up the pace and eve sprint for the last leg. It’s not much but it works for me! I wouldn’t say that I love running but I no longer loathe it and I actually look forward to Mondays because I move up a block.
That’s awesome! I do the same thing by adding a little bit to my route every time. As you can see, there aren’t many city blocks to measure where I am but I agree with the method! Definitely still feel like dying though…;-)
Try sprinting at the end…I know it sounds like a pain but for whatever reason I have more energy during the run because all I can think is, “F$#@ I have to sprint soon”.