My Love/Hate Relationship With Running

In the Fall I made a decision to try to become a runner (of sorts- in fact, maybe we should just say 'a jogger'). I've never been one to enjoy running. I found it boring, and frankly just plain hard on the body. But, I have a friend who is a marathon/triathalon runner, and she inspired me. Not to run either of those, but to try my hand at a 5K or 10K. I started slow, with a mile or two, and had worked my way up to 4 miles. I bought the iPod accessory for my shoe, and w/ the help of a new Nano (thanks mom), I was tracking my miles and setting goals, and LOVING it. Until, stabbing pains started happening every time I finished running. Yes- I had shin splints. I had to put my running on a hiatus, and resort to the Stairmaster, etc.

It's January and I've decided 3 months is long enough to heal my shins. I bought new shoes, inserts, and I think I'm ready to go. I ran about 2 miles yesterday, and the shins feel great (although the rest of my body feels like it was run over by a semi-truck). But, I have added motivation. My niece was recently diagnosed with JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis), and my sister mentioned that there is a run to benefit JRA. We have made tentative plans to run it together. So, despite the pain in ALL of my body, I will know that I'm running for a good reason. To help kids like my niece who probably have some degree of pain all the time.

Now if I could just get the school district to stop delaying the start of school for snow (that never shows up), I could actually keep working towards my goal. But instead, I'll just sit here and catch up on everyone's blogs-LOL.