If you aren't a runner but want to be one: Start now. Stop reading this blogpost, lace up your shoes, and go for a jog. Just move those legs, even if you only jog very slowly for 3 minutes. Then come back, read the rest of the post and post a comment that says you did it so that we can all celebrate with you. Maybe I'll even give something away to everyone who does it.
I'm serious. Go. Now. Get out of here. The sun is shining nicely where I am. I'll pray it warms up wherever you are.
If you already are a runner and want parallel advice about how to stay motivated (as promised in For the run of it: Vol 1), it kind of boils down to making it a priority. The idea of priority rings especially loud and clear to me now that I'm a mom. And a four-month-old nursing mom at that; sorry if that's TMI for any male readers out there. Keep in mind that, pending serious bodily injury or 143 feet of snowfall, it could always be more difficult than it is right now for you to run.
So, in a word: prioritize. Every so often, and especially when my stage of life changes, I take care to re-evaluate my priorities and then plan my weekly schedule and day-to-day activities around them. Not the other way around, which so easily happens.
In this busy world, how do you prioritize the things that are most important to you?
Post Script (If you're not already tired of reading.)
In road-races I ran B.H. (before Howard), I would regularly get beat by moms. (I knew they were moms because they were often organized in teams wearing snazzy pink t-shirts that read things like "Moms on the Move" or "If you're reading the back of my shirt, you're getting beat by a woman who has pushed a baby out of her vagina. Beat that." OK. I've never seen that last one; I made it up.) When these amazing gals were kicking my bootie, I would always think, "How are these moms so hard-core?" And now I know. It takes a lot of planning and prioritizing even to get out the door with my running shoes and a not-too-spitty-uppy shirt on...let alone run. By the time I'm out there, no matter what the weather's like or how tired I feel or how much my stomach's growling I'm running.
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I just did this Jocelyn! I decided that I needed to stop saying I hate running and just try it. So on my walk with the dog today I half-jogged, half-walked it. A good start. Thanks for your inspiration. :)
ReplyDeleteYay, Carla! And yay for Janelle, too, who texted me that she did it also! I'm so proud of you both and glad to be a small encouragement to you. Thanks so much for reading.
ReplyDeleteAs intimated, I'm sending each of you a 1/2 dozen of my blueberry coconut granola bars that I shared on an earlier post. They're fresh out of the oven today. Email me your addresses and they're as good as in the mail.
Oh, and Happy Running!