I've been running for a while now, not religiously, just 3 to 4 times a week. I've always hated running, and I only did it to stay in shape for soccer. That's why a few months ago I was a little shocked with myself when I willingly wanted to get a run in even after I completed my last run for the week. The entire run I was just floating on air with excitement.. FINALLY, I like to run!
Why couldn't I enjoy it when I was in high school on the cross country team for crying out loud? I dreaded practice every day, but I enjoyed spending time with my friends, so I stuck with it. At one practice, a friend and I came up with this amazingly clever plan to get out of running. We decided to cut through the woods and hide in the bushes until the fastest runner went past us. The plan was to come in right after him, in turn making ourselves look really good while not having to do the actual run. We had even planned to pant and look really exhausted as we sprinted our way to the finish line. Unfortunately the coach was on to us thanks to a few tattle tails, an we ended up having to do the run anyway... not to mention having to deal with an angry coach. Opps! And we thought we were so smooth... I'm sure the giggling in the bushes didn't help.
Anyway, I've been running but just at a comfortable 5-6 mph pace. I started wondering what kind of 5K I could run. In high school I wasn't extremely fast, but I wasn't slow either, somewhere around the 26 minute mark depending on the level of the trail. 27-28 minutes if there were a lot of hills. Last Friday I decided to go for it (on the treadmill.) I decided to start the first half mile at 5.5 to warm up, but then I bumped it up to 6.5 and even 7.5 at the end to make it under 30 minutes. My final time was 29:39. I was stoked- I could still run under 30 minutes. It felt really good, I won't lie. I kept running, but slowed it down a bit and finished at the 4.25 mark. What an amazing high. I've noticed my body craves that feeling, and it helps me clear my mind, have more patience, and enjoy the little things in life. Maybe next week I can get my time down to 28 minutes.. wish me luck!
"Life is short... Running makes it seem longer" Baron Hanson
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