just (make yourself) do it

Going to the gym, attending a religious service, editing a friend's 20 page paper, playing GI Joes with your little brother. All things that you may dread doing, but once you actually start getting engaged in doing them, you actually feel better than before. What would happen, though, if you were to actually start doing these things on your own rather than when you felt guilted into it by yourself or another?

I took that idea and ran with it - literally. If you know me or you've read my blog before (hi mom!), then you know I have an unhealthy love for bikes. But, I've never been big on running. Various complaints and excuses have been issued over the years in order to avoid it. Having recently decided to start training for triathlons, & being in love with my bike and a natural in the pool, I knew I had to face pounding the pavement.

When you think about it, running is the only sport that is actually considered another sport's punishment. But I digress.

I always felt better after a run, high on endorphins & refreshed. So I decided that in order to not only not be reluctant to lace up my Nikes and get to work but also possibly gain a love (or even just a 'like') for running, I needed to hit the streets (or the treadmill) every day. Once I became accustomed to it, being routine-oriented, I assumed it would become an essential and enjoyable part of my day.

First, I eliminated any excuses. I decided to join a gym so that "it's raining" or "it's too hot out" were moot complaints. Plus, being competitive, I'd be around other people who were also running, and therefore I'd train harder. Secondly, I did what any woman would do when trying something new- I went shopping. In my closet. For my first week at the gym, I wore my cutest workout clothes, so, at the very least, I'd be excited to change clothes to drive over there. Thirdly, I scouted out all the gyms around town. I didn't need to join somewhere that was incredibly expensive or pretentious. I didn't want to do any sort of classes, I didn't need a pool, and I definitely had no need for the pushy salesman, at one gym that will remain unnamed, who looked like he wouldn't know the difference between a treadmill and an elliptical machine, if he ever managed to venture onto one. Finally, I made a decision (which I have been incredibly happy with), signed on the dotted line, and got on the treadmill.

Starting running again after taking so much time off was difficult at first. Like I said, I hated it because it was slow (in comparison to cycling, especially) and incredibly repetitive. But one week going to the gym to run a few miles turned into a month, and now, in my second month running, I can say that I have gotten much faster with more endurance...and I'm more than happy to run every day and try to beat my personal best.

The whole experience has taught me that something that makes you feel great, even if only after you complete it, is worth the time and energy to go out of one's way to do. My life would probably be no different if I didn't go running every day, but now there's something to look forward to after work, an alternate method of training besides cycling, and just one more thing in my life that makes me happy. And there's no such thing as too much happiness.