born not to run...

one of my least favorite physical activities is running. not good when you're trying to do a triathlon. so i'm out to change my own perception...

i've never been one who enjoyed running. not when i ran middle-distances in track in high school. (and oh-so-slowly, i might add. i remember breaking 8 minutes in the mile in my last track meet and thinking that was pretty good. oh-so-slow.) not when i ran cross country for one season. (not only was it horrible for my knees at the time - or was that in my imagination? - but i took my 10-year old brother on a training run one time and he out-ran me. oh-so-slow.) not when i led the crew team in pre-season training runs up the trials outside boulder. never, ever enjoyed it...

since my rowing career and it's training regimen ended in 1995, i've probably run fewer than 25 times. there was the summer of '99, when k and i would run the 2.5 mile loop around the park a couple days a week. two or three 25 minute runs through the neighborhood last year. a couple 5ks thrown in for good measure. and that's it. see, i don't like to run...

then my sister asked me a couple months ago to do a triathlon with her in august. and because i figured i need a goal in sight if i'm going to maintain some regularity at the gym, i said yes. but a triathlon means running is involved. and that means i need to get over my distaste for running...

i finally managed to drag my hesitant feet to the treadmill a few weeks ago... and only because all of the bikes were occupied. somehow i managed to run a 5k. and at a reasonable pace. and it didn't feel so horrible...

i've been on the treadmill several times since, with varying results. there was the 30 minute run that became a 15 minute run because i just wasn't feeling it. and then there was last night's run. i felt good and strong from the first step to the last. i ran at an 8:00 pace for the first 15 minutes and 7:44 for the last 15 minutes. overall 3.8 miles in 30 minutes. and it felt pretty good...

i might be able to get used to this running thing. i think i need to get outside, but i'm going to wait until it's comfortably warm-enough (don't think for a second that i'm going to make myself run in the cold - two things i don't like would not lend to a happy chris). and once the triathlon is over maybe i'll turn my attention to running-only events. maybe i'll turn to trail running, because the scenery is so much more inspiring...

and maybe - just maybe - the guy who hated running can redefine himself...