My Salute to the Runners Who Do It Anyway on National Running Day

It’s National Running Day and I have to say, this girl is proud to have a couple half-marathons behind her.  Heck, I even did a triathlon once (sure, it was the short ‘Sprint’ version, but it counts).

But here’s the truth.

I hate running.  I really do.

However, I also know it’s one of the few workouts that truly changes this body of mine that I’m trying so hard to get back into shape.

Dancing will also do the trick, and I’d prefer to do that every day, but the kind of dancing that gets me fit is the kind that happens out on the town with a pile of fun friends and I just don’t see them all coming over to ‘get down’ every night so that I can lose a few pounds.

So, running is my next bet.

And even though I truly hate doing it, I love it when I’m done.

The entire time I run I have to pretend I’m being chased by a lion.

Hey, whatever works, right?

And, I can find a thousand other things to do with my time if I give myself five seconds.

So, sometimes, I just have to put on my best sports bra (it hurts when I don’t), lace up my running shoes (a good pair makes a huge difference), and head out the door.

Treadmills don’t work for me.

Every single second I’m on one I know that I can jump right off.  It’s torture.

But if I run outside, I make myself run really far, knowing that I’ll have to run all the way back.

It’s the only way I can do it.

And when it comes to races, which aren’t really races to me because there is no part of me that believes I will ever be the fastest runner, it’s just about crossing the finish line.

So, on this National Running Day, I salute those of you who win, but my real praise goes to the others out there like me, who do it because they know it’s what they need to do, what they should do, even if they despise every step.

Me at the finish line of the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon