Running is my hot rendezvous

Hi everyone!

As a semi-new-runner, I want to share something I’ve been thinking about for awhile: my new found LOVE for running and how to achieve that love. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can. Growing up, I could barely run around this small field near my elementary school. I didn’t believe in myself. Now, I find myself having chats with Julianne about how frustrated we both are that we can’t run in this horrid winter weather mess!

When I first moved to DC, I became roommates with this girl, M and the first thing I learned about her was she just completed her first triathlon the previous summer. She raved and raved about the athletic task and explained that by using the Couch to 5K program, she was able to complete her running goals.

Immediately, I Googled Couch to 5K and started on my journey running 60-seconds at a time with a 90-second walking break for 20-minutes. I could see my fitness improving after about a week.

Still though, I hadn’t yet experienced the “runners-high” my mother always claimed that existed. Where was it? Was it the same high I felt after normal exercise on, let’s say, the elliptical?

Then, one week it just hit me. My runners high didn’t actually occur on a run but rather at work. I’ll never forget this: I was working retail at the time when all I could think about was my next run. I thought about it like it was some hot rendezvous in a hotel room somewhere. The next day, I knew I was hooked because I wanted to run and it was no longer a chore (at the time, any exercise was a chore).

The reason I’m writing this post is to send a message to new runners. You will, eventually, love it as much as I do and others do. Sticking with it is the goal! I highly recommend the Couch to 5K program (even if you’re fit from other exercise). It starts off so simple and you move up in weeks when you feel ready. Check it out!