back by popular demand

Okay friends, due to an overwhelming response and people absolutely begging me to blog again, I'm back at it. (haha totally kidding...about both).

As people told me to "blog for yourself" I was totally confused. I write in my journal for myself. I blog for others. How on earth could I combine the two? Then the light came. Blog about running (aka jogging, strutting, pacing, trotting, whatever you want to call it).

I realize not all of my readers are passionate about running, but Daisy (my old college roomie) has encouraged me over and over to do this and even commented "Maybe it will motivate others to run more" (actually I think she also said something like..."it might motivate me to get my butt off the couch"...is that right Dais?) LOL (those of you who know daisy know that her butt never has time to sit on the couch). But that was enough to seal the deal. I'm gonna blog about running!

...So I decided over Christmas break that I was going to take up running again. I definitely wasn't getting any skinnier or younger and figured I should be more proactive about my health. I did an informal 5k with my stake last year in the summer, just under 30 mins and I totally had a blast. I liked it so much that I didn't run again until Christmas! LOL So this year, Feb 12th, I did my first official 5K (see pic). I was a little slower than last years because I had only been running for 6 weeks...but it was a HUGE accomplishment for me. It became my new interest/hobby. My brother in law gave me some of his old "Runners World" magazines and I have read them inside and out at least 2 times. Lucky for me, tomorrow I'm going to pick up a stack of old RW magazines from a guy I found on craigslist. WOOHOO! Those magazines are not only informational, but inspiring. There are tons of stories of average people just like me who started running and have done awesome things. If they can do it so can I, right?

So I made a new personal goal about a month ago. I want running to become so much a part of me that someday, somewhere, someone knows me as "the girl who runs". I believe the key to becoming that girl is consistency. So far, so good. My next race is the stake 5K on May 28th and I am running at least 3 times a week. I am totally excited about doing another race. In another post maybe I'll give more details of my first race. (again, if not for you, then for me, right?) The big 5K race is like when I learned how to play the flute in 4th grade (back when music lessons were offered free via public school systems). I loved playing, going to my lessons, holding that beautiful instrument, but most of all the excitement came on the concert days. That's how I feel about running. I can run 3 miles in front of my house and work on my time...but doing it with a number strapped to my chest with a group full of other anxious people seems to make it all the more exciting!

Wow. I could go on longer. Apparently I really do like this. I'm getting super excited just writing about it. But to not scare off my millions of fans and followers *cough* I'll end it here. Thank you to those who have encouraged me to blog again. :)