Running!

I have never run a mile in my life. NEVER. Not in grade school, not in high school, not in college - never. When we "had" to run in high school, I ran a lap then walked a lap. It took me 17 minutes. I have no idea how it took me that long.

I've always been VERY negative towards running. I thought it was stupid. It wasn't just something that I didn't like, it was something that I thought was unhealthy and a waste of time. Runners always seem to have bad knees and poor joints. Why would I ever want to force myself to try something so ridiculous? 

Yet, there is it - a picture a me wearing running shoes, leggings, shorts, and fancy t-shirt. I am going to try running and here's why:

• The boyfriend. He started running over the summer and ran his first 5k. Ever since then, he's gone running crazy - reading books, researching the best running form, and signing up for all sorts of crazy running events. He has a huge influence on me and considering I spend a lot of time with him, I think he's slowly been brainwashing me to believe that running is good. 

• The description of "running is like jumping". I read this while researching the history of running. It never occurred to me that running is like jumping from one step to the next. I love to jump. It's in the categories of dancing and laughing. It's a fun thing to do. Maybe running will be a fun thing to do.

• The community. Runners have a huge awesome community full of really nice people. That's attractive to me. I saw my brother run a half marathon not too long ago and I was really surprised at how nice everybody seemed. There was something in the air and I wanted to be a part of it. 

• The health benefits. Despite my previous concerns (bad knees/joints), running is healthy. It gets your heart rate up and releases endorphins (which makes you happy or something - I never really understood endorphins). I'm still a little bit concerned about the bad knees and achy feelings but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. I can quit at anytime. 

• The boyfriend again. He gets mentioned twice because he was that influentional. Did I mention he bought me all that neat running gear for Valentine's day? Yeah, he's pretty awesome. 

My two running goals:

#1) Go running on Friday at 9am. Like I said earlier, I never run. Starting is going to be the hardest part.

#2) Do a 5k on May 12, 2012. That's the date of the Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids. I'm going to do it. I'm going to follow the "Couch to 5k" training plan and run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. 

I'm going to do it. I am going to run at least a mile and that will feel good. I want to feel that pride and work hard for it. If I hate it, then I don't ever have to do it again. 

Also, I forgot to put on deodorant today and I don't know what to do about it. 

This is what I will look like on Friday morning - just add red hair.