The Running Diaries.
To be honest, I’ve never been a fitness junkie or someone who enjoyed working out. I guess the thing of it really is, that I hadn’t yet discovered a workout that felt good on the outside and the inside. I stuck to the regular routines of simply the treadmill and the occasional group class at my once then gym that I no longer am a member of. But regardless, I hadn’t found my thing. I’ve tried classes like Spinning, Zumba (I love to dance), Bikram Yoga (too challenging for me), and whatever program I read in “SELF” magazine. No matter what it was of the moment, I never stuck to it. However, I still practice Yoga, but not of the Bikram kind, but I practice Vinyasa at home with a wonderful DVD I purchased awhile back.
However, I must proudly announce, that I have taken up running. Running to me, in the beginning of the whole “maybe I should try running” seemed like an impossible task. I’ve never ran or tried to run for anything. In high school I played Volleyball and Tennis. Some of our group workouts included running and oh did I hate that! Because I wasn’t as a fast as my peers. Ironically enough, I still would focus on the “go faster” mentality to only learn and fully realize, that running as fast as I can, for myself as a beginner, is not a good idea. There are have been a few times where I’ve tired myself out to the point of where the workout itself becomes too much, and I stop instantly without even giving it a second try.
Hence, I’ve decided to start a blog segment called The Running Diaries. Throughout The Running Diaries, I’ll document my experiences through trying to become a runner, which may include tweets during my runs, or maybe photos! of my journey. To mix it up, and to add a bit of challenge to it, I’ve created a The Running Diaries on dailymile for beginner runners to challenge themselves, to see which participant of the group can run the most distance.
The Running Diaries for me is more about a personal challenge. I’ve been struggling a lot lately to try and even run 1mi. But today, I accomplished that task. Yes, I had to alternate between bursts of running followed by walking. You may not consider that “running”, but I do. At least I didn’t throw in the towel and say forget it!
Last but not forgotten I want give thanks to fellow runner bloggers who have inspired me to continue in this crazy, yet exciting journey of becoming a runner: Chic Runner and Le Petite Athlete. I love reading about their own personal journey through running, but also health and fitness. There are so many days (for example today) where I just didn’t care enough to run, but I decided to skim a few past entries and thought “just go, don’t look back” and I went. I was able to complete something that I’ve never been able to do before. If you’re a beginner runner and just like me, struggle to run 1mi, I suggest you start your own The Running Diaries blog series within your own blog. You just might surprise yourself when your reflect on what you’ve been able to accomplish even when you thought you couldn’t.
I choose what I do, and this is my choice to run.
Filed under: The Running Diaries | 2 Comments
Ah this is so sweet! I believe that anyone can run and so can you :) Great job on making the decision and doing it for yourself. Seriously! That’s the only person who can make that decision :)
I love the last line and I’ll be checking back to see how your doing :) xoxo
@Danica,
I read your blog religiously. It’s kind of crazy yet ironic because just before I decided to give running my 100% effort, I stumbled upon your blog. I like reading about your struggles with running and kind of reminds me that every runner at some point struggles. Even though were in different boats, it’s really motivating for me to see (well read, duh) some like yourself who’s been the beginner but been able to do marathons upon marathons. I know someday, if I choose to, I’ll do a marathon.
However, I just signed up for a 5k race on Sunday, November 22.