FINALLY… week 1 is over. 11 miles total, and here’s how I feel: Running sucks. I am terrible at it. It hurts. It is boring. There, I said it.
Everyone says to me – I didn’t know you were a runner?!?! My reply… well, uh.. I’m not. I mean, yes I do get up very early to run before work, and yes I am running in a marathon in January… but a runner I am not. I’ve never had the “runners high”. I’ve never even had my “second wind”. Instead, I get really bad cramps, my head pounds, my skin itches like crazy, I can’t breath, and I get SOO flushed and red. And the redness stays with me for like 3 hours, even after showering and drinking tons of water. Out of shape? Yes, clearly. But even when I was younger, swimming competitively and competing in triathlons – running has never come easy to me. It is and always has been such a struggle.
So yes, its true. I do NOT enjoy running. WHY WHY then, have I committed myself to a half marathon in December and a full marathon in January? Because I really really WANT to be a runner. I found an awesome quote today that I think sums it up and I love love love it:
“You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” -Les Brown
Not that I have any real desire to be a great runner. I just want to feel great from running. That being said, I do have to admit, that even though I feel lousy and slow and out of shape during my runs, I do feel proud of myself for doing it anyway despite all of that. So that’s something.
