It's funny; I still don't think of myself as a real runner. And now I'm at a point where other people will say that they're runners, and I ask them a follow-up question and realize that they only run like, 2-3 miles at a time. My shortest runs are now longer than 2 miles. However, I don't question their legitimacy as a runner, only my own. I think the problem is that I hang out with too many marathoners and I need to not compare myself to them.
My friend Anne and I are both training for this half marathon in March. She texted me one day about how cold it was during her run, and I was like, "That's what makes you hardcore!" Her response was that being hardcore was not fun. And it's true- in the moment, it totally sucks! But it reminded me of the quote below. (Blogging from the iPad is also a pain because it won't let me put pictures wherever I want.)
I hung out with some friends from high school (actually, more like elementary school) the other day. The first thing everyone said to me was, "OMG, tell me about the running!" They all have stories about me trying to coerce them into walking the mile with me in PE class, or even smoking a cigarette one time when I was supposed to be walking the mile. They all agree that hell must have frozen over.
Tomorrow I leave for FreezeFest! So excited. But yesterday I realized something. The reason I originally started running was to build endurance for canyoneering. That was all I thought about when I first started running. But I haven't thought about that in a while! It just occurred to me that soon I'll get to see if the running has paid off. I totally lost sight of my original goal and just became consumed with running for the joy of running! In fact, when I got those airline vouchers last week, my first thought was Disney Princess Half Marathon, not canyoneering trip! Oh dear heaven, where are my priorities? The funny thing is that I don't think the running is going to help me with those difficult approaches... I got all out of breath last week from climbing the stairs to the L.
Margaret got me a pretty amazing Christmas gift. I always thought those fanny packs were so dorky, but after my 7 mile long run, I was getting a little thirsty! This Saturday I'll be running 9 miles in the desert, so hydration is a must! Not to mention that I feel like having this fanny pack makes me at least look like a legit runner! And Margaret said these are special socks that keep you from getting blisters- I didn't know you needed special socks. I was also just reading about compression socks, and now I'm wondering about those.... I seriously need a coach to guide me through all this stuff! I started running because I thought it was so simple.... Boy, was I wrong about that one!
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