Day 1 of 30 day run challenge, "Pushy Peeps"

September 25, 2012
I hate running!  I even blogged about how I'd never ever never run again!  NEVER!

Then I surrounded myself with runner friends.  I kept them at a 5K distance.  By the way, I have no idea how many miles are actually in a 5K and I've no intentions of finding out.  When I see 5K I think money.  Lying bastards!  I have come to describe my runner friends as pushers selling a drug.  In fact those creepy drug dealers on the corner have absolutely nothing on my pushy peeps.  My runner friends stand there in those cute shorts, awesome running shoes, pushing this drug called running. They don't even have to talk, you'll never beg the question, "What are you selling" because one look and you know.  It is only then that I run...in the opposite direction of the pusher.  Some of them even sport this fancy number on their chest, yeah, reminds me of a toe tag at the morgue.   I have always just said NO!  In fact, Hell No!

Insert Day 1:  15 minutes of a run (okay, it was more like a pathetic jog) mixed with a brisk walk.  I hated it so much I decided I would try it again!  I started out in a foul mood and with each pounding of the pavement I lost a lot of anger.  Okay, that's a good thing right!  I also thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest and my lungs might collapse.  Okay, that's a good thing right!

I have bad feet, bad ankles, achy legs, and a lot of the times a sore muscle in my back.  Those are all very good reasons to NOT run.  But the biggest pusher of all was my little brother and sibling rivalry just became my biggest reason TO run.  My brother and I have never been competitive, leaning on each other, supporting each other, and just encouraging each other's lives...never competing.  But now, it's game on!   I really think he just used this as one of his pushing methods that I am quite certain they instruct all runners before that 5K thingee.

When I told my daughter that I was going to start running she said, "You can't run you're a mom".  WOAH!  Everything I was trying to teach my daughter just unraveled in that one sentence.  But, I'll save that for a mommy-guilt post.  I'm going to show her!!  I have two reasons that are even bigger than sibling rivalry, my kids and I'm going to show them that Moms CAN Run!  In the words of one of my runner friends, (Her name is also Jen so this must mean she is totally awesome)  "This makes me a Bad Mother Runner"

So thank you my Pushy Peeps, you have pushed me into a 30-day run challenge.  I am going to force myself to do this and to blog each day of my progress.   I expect you to be there for me....doing what you do best....pushing!

I won't run, Forest, I won't run!

I am not a runner! Never have been, and recently decided I never will be. I've made some serious changes in my diet & exercise routine in the last 6 weeks and I feel great! I wanted to feel better so I thought, "why not run". Oh, the reasons why NOT to run (for me) far outweigh the reasons to run!

I tried it, if you ask a trainer or my husband, who sits on the couch telling me HOW to run, they'd probably tell you I didn't try hard enough. Anyone can run right? I can do it? Nah, I won't. I didn't give up, I don't feel I failed, and I am never going to say never. I'm just not going to run.

I have a friend and a sibling who have signed up for their first marathon and I'm so excited for them. Several friends around me took up running, ran a few marathons, love running for fun. They look great, are in their best shape, and talk about how wonderful they feel after a run. I admire them and think they are just a cape away from being my hero. But their stories don't make me want to run.

When I first started trying to run I wondered when I'd feel that proverbial "Runner's High". I think I felt it a few times, that is if the high is that burning sensation in your lungs that I would equate to my late teen years of inhaling from a silver pipe. Not that I ever did that, kids, no no but I've heard all about it! My husband, the couch potato trainer, told me there is no runner's high, he bragged about his miles ran back in college, and what I was doing wrong. Had I bought myself a pair of fancy new running shoes I would have planted one in his rear!

So, I resign myself to running short 2-5 minute sprints on the treadmill and I'm happy with that. Six weeks ago I was on the couch training for heart disease & diabetes, anything I do now is success and that makes me feel good. Almost as good as that "runner's high".

I won't run, Forest, I won't run...unless of course you have a box of liquor filled chocolates, even then I may just make you get off the couch and bring them to me!