the thing about running

The thing about running is that I don't really love it. I mean I do because I'm good at it and because it pushes me to achieve goals only I can achieve, but I am not passionate about it. I will not run if it's freezing outside; I don't like the way my lungs feel when the cold wind catches my breath. I'll run if it's hot, but I'm not going to lie, I might swear the whole time. Perhaps one day I will love it, but until that day comes, I'm just going to keep running because it's the cheapest way I've found to push my post-baby body back into shape.

I've run a few times since Felicity was born almost four months ago (can you believe she's almost 4 months old?!), but I haven't been consistent because this winter has been absolutely terrible. Sure, the temperatures may not seem all that cold, but the wind factor is something unlike anything I have ever seen. I'll remind you that I live in the middle of nowhere; I'm not even sure it's a map dot on most maps. Because we live in nowhereville, the wind is powerful, and it comes at you from every angle. And let's not even talk about the rain. The rain here is comparable to the Argentine death mist that gets you soaked ever so slightly until you can hardly move. I will not run in rain, especially when it's the death-mist kind of rain.

But there was no wind or rain tonight; it was beautiful outside, and the wind was calm. I don't know what the temperature was when I arrived home from taking the girls to gymnastics, but it wasn't too hot or too cold, and I knew I had to run or I'd kick myself all day tomorrow. Nervously, I decided to take my phone with me to see how quickly I could run a mile. The results were disheartening, but I refuse to let them get me blue. I ran a mile in 9 minutes 10 seconds. Before I got pregnant, I was consistently running 7:16-7:25 minute miles for 4-5 miles. So you can imagine my disappointment when I heard the robot lady repeat, "You've completed one mile in 9 minutes 10 seconds."

But like I said, I will not let my slowness stop me. Instead, I will use it to motivate me in the future. It took me over a year to shave my time down to that face-paced mile. I am going to be patient as I slowly return to what I hope will be close to my previous time. I'd even settle for 7:50 miles.

I thought I'd report my progress monthly on the blog. I need to be accountable to someone. I am also going to continue to eat healthy as I run because one thing I've learned over the years, the more crap I eat, the worse I run. And heavy runs are the worst. They drain the life out of me. They make me want to give up.

So here I go. Here's my slow return back to greatness. ;)