As someone who needs to feel progress in order to keep my motivation, a week of successful running in D.C. at sea level followed by a rude awakening to the mile high left me feeling what little progress I had made in my quest to runneth had been rebuffed. Discouraging? Yep.
Now, I am not proud, but I think the longest distance I have ever run is, maybe, two miles. I am simply not a runner. I have never experienced the famed "runner's high." I wanted to, I really did, but learning to run with my attention span, it just never quite fit. As I have learned, becoming a runner is a marathon, not a sprint, and I live my life in a series of sprints...as I just have no patience for this marathon junk. So...two miles it is, was...until recently.
Having a baby changes you. Yes, my heart is more open, I see the world more clearly, I love more deeply, blah, blah, blah, but really, my stomach is more saggy and I feel like I should be rocking 'mom jeans,' pleats and all. Yet, my friends/family who are runners are still sporting their six-packs and playing beach volleyball in a two-piece swimsuit. Gasp. So, in addition to wanting to get into better shape for my health and future, wah., I would like to look down to my abdomen and see more firm and less flan. Call me vain...I own it...but Runner's World, here I come.
I have begun on the treadmill, although the outside does beckon, so too does The Simpsons reruns on the large flat screen TV to help time pass. Running for the past few days, I haven't gone far, maybe 7 tenths of a mile daily (without walking...haha)...and have slammed right into the usual problems I seem to face when beginning to run. Shins and ankles...shins and ankles. I try to run through, because I am that tough, but really...they hurt, and well...I am not that tough.
I have transitioned to non-impact machines, which do not accomplish the whole "running" thing, but do pose less problems for my lower legs. I have also decided that warming-up, stretching, and not running at capacity just to beat the guy next to me for the two minutes I can keep up with him are essential.
Would love any input...novice runners to pros? Advice for the lower legs, morale, or both...
