Someone I went to middle school and high school with posted a link about Disneyland’s Half Marathon on Facebook earlier this week and I remembered how I took a sudden interest in the idea of running last year. I attempted to start running, or at least jogging because of a blog I stumbled upon. I don’t recall what blog it was, but it belonged to a girl who weighed more than I do now who completely turned her life around by running. She started off on a treadmill, pushing herself to see how fast she could go and she took off from there. She’s ridiculously fit now and runs marathons. I thought, “If she can do it, so can I.” We all have the capacity of doing great feats we never imagined we could accomplish if only we try and put effort into it. I attempted it, was able to jog for 10 minutes if I really pushed myself, and then just stopped out of sheer laziness. So, I Googled ways on how to start training for a 10k at a novice level after looking at what it takes to run the Disney marathon. I’m striving for change this year, like things that will only help improve this shell I live in.
So, with all that said, I jogged the other day on the treadmill and Anne Perkins from Parks & Recreation said it the best: “Jogging is the worst! I know it keeps you healthy, but God, at what cost?!” I felt my feet move forward, hitting the spinny part of the treadmill (what is that even called? Is there a name for the floor in which you walk and run on? Is it just the treadmill? I don’t know. Whatever.) and with each strike, I felt my thighs move up and down, burning and itching. I saw that I was only going 4 mph and thought, goddamn this is quite pathetic. And painful.
Yeah, yeah, I know — pain is good. It means you’re doing something. You can’t just give up because something hurts you. As much as I’d love to be fit and able to run a mile in under 15 minutes, I need to put the work in in order to be able to accomplish it. I’ll take it step by step (literally…ha!), I’ll see how far I can push myself, and even though I’m going to hate every minute of it I’ll at least know I’m not sitting on my bed, wasting time on the interwebs to distract myself from my current funk, thinking about how to get better — I’ll actually be doing something about it.
But not today. Today I’m off to San Francisco and I need breakfast *tummy grumble*. Plus I’ll be walking from Downtown to North Beach and that’ll be my cardio for the day 🙂
Cheers,
Nina
lefancygeek.com 
Ugh. I’ll run if I’m being chased by someone, and ONLY then. 😉
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When it gets nicer outside, try running outside. It’s not as boring because you can see things move around you, which causes both interest and a feeling of accomplishment. Running on a treadmill makes me feel like a gerbil in a cage, or maybe Sisyphus pushing a rock with no results.
xo, Super Starling! // superstarling.tumblr.com
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Yeah, I’m in process of baby-stepping myself into a regular fitness routine. Although I’m only up to 15 mins at a time of pilates, I do already feel a little lighter and looser. Do your best to focus on little milestones and you’ll surprise yourself in no time.
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Exercising is so difficult. I hate every moment of it, so I do none. I am going to try to sk8board more to work so hopefully that will help.
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I had a similar goal last year that never came to fruition. We should sign up for the Disneyland 5K this year with Inay!!!
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I used to be a seasoned runner, until I badly hurt my ankle last year. Now I just can’t anymore.
But now I’m totally into yoga. I barely go a day without running through a few asanas. Not only is it good for my body, but it’s good for my mind as well.
It’s awesome that you want to challenge yourself and do something good for your body. But if you’re not enjoying it, perhaps running isn’t for you? There are loads of great, fun workouts that are just as effective but won’t feel like such a chore.
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