Think you can't? Think again...

My close friends know that running hasn't always been something I've enjoyed.  In fact, my really close friends can remember back to the high school days when running was dubbed The Thing I Most Hated To Do.  Especially with my P.E. teacher sending severe looks of derision toward the last few of us who decided we needed to walk the end of "the mile".

I was given a copy of John "The Penguin" Bingham's book Running for Mortals for Christmas this year. He also started his running career later in life.  He was overweight, out of shape, and couldn't run more than about a block in the beginning.  While reading the first several chapters, I was catapulted back in time to my first attempts at running.  In college, my friend Amy and I would run a 2 mile route close to our apartment complex.  At the time, I thought I had really accomplished something to run 2 miles all at once.  Our horrific renditions of "Proud Mary" helped us stay focused on our end-result, but it certainly didn't help establish any personal records where speed was concerned.

At that time, the goal was weight loss, and weight loss alone. The freshman ten and fifteen had come and gone, and I had no knowledge of the eating/weight loss/metabolism connection.  All I knew was that when I ran, I lost a few pounds, and when I didn't, well...

Later in life I learned about weight training and how it could re-shape your body.  As a girl with more than a few "problem areas", this was terrific news.   But running and I had an inconsistent relationship.  I learned about cardio fitness, but still didn't embrace running as something I wanted to do too often.  The elliptical trainer at the gym was much easier.  At one point my ex-husband and I even bought a NordicTrack.  It made a very nice place to hang all the rejects when I was having a Nothing Fits Day.

It wasn't until right after my divorce that running became really important.  I was very lost in my new life.  Alone in my emotional tornado, my roots unearthed, I found that running gave me time to think, to process, to ponder.  I found that I could set physical goals and meet them.  I could propel my physical self forward as I moved my life forward.  I trained for my first 10k and finished strong.  I then set my sights on a half marathon.  By this time I had met my friend Jill and we began running and training together.  With two half marathons under my belt, the only logical next step was a full marathon.  The full marathon was very physically taxing, and I feel I could have done much better that day.  But I know that I have it in me to go 26.2 miles using nothing but good old fashioned mental and physical stamina.

So if you're someone who hasn't ever run before, and you think "I can't even run a mile", know that most of the runners you know started out the same way.  Go to a nearby track and do nothing more than run the straights and walk the curves for 4 laps. You will have completed your first mile, and there's no shame in walking. You'll be amazed at how quickly you'll progress, and the feeling you'll have after you've met that first goal.  Think you can't do it?  Think again, my friend...