While I've never put much thought into New Year's resolutions, I did make a resolution last year. As I've said before, I'm on a constant mission to better myself in a variety of ways. My resolution was to start running, because I know how important cardiovascular activity is to your overall health. I started the year with the Couch to 5K program and I highly recommend it if you're trying to get into running. I did every workout exactly as I was supposed to, and I was able to run three miles in a couple months. It was pretty exciting to me.
Now it's the end of the year, and well, I haven't ran in two weeks. I actually do have a reason for this - I injured my knee about two weeks ago (completely unrelated to running) and I don't want to run on it to avoid hurting it more. It's starting to feel normal again now, so I'll start running again next week.
But this isn't the only time I've taken off from running lately. I'll skip runs because I'm stuck in lab late, and don't want to get home late. I'll skip runs becaues I'm not feeling well. But both of those are lies I tell myself - if I'm skipping a run, it's because I'm being lazy and making excuses.
As a result, after making it up to three miles, the furthest I've run is four miles. I've done four mile runs a few times, but I have some sort of mental block where I tell myself I can't go further than that. Even as I'm running, I'm being lazy and thinking, "maybe I should only run two miles today..."
I think part of the problem is that I have no goal in mind. In January, I was doing the C25K program. I had specific runs to do, three days a week. After that, I was on my own. I did good for most of the summer, but started slacking off in the fall when I went back to running indoors. And it was ok, I told myself, because I was still running, even if it was only two miles.
But honestly, I'm really disappointed in how little progress I've made in the past year. Time to step up my game for next year. No more slacking, no more excuses. I'm putting it here in writing, so you can all make fun of me when I fail miserably next year. My goal for next year, call it a New Year's resolution if you will, is to run a half marathon by the end of next year.
For me, this would be huge. I've always been a poor runner. I'm slow, I don't know how to breathe properly, and I have no endurance. But I've proven that even I can improve my distance. Running two miles was a feat for me in undergrad. Now a two mile run is the shortest I'll do. Every time I've run four miles, I've felt like I could run at least another mile. I don't, because I know you can hurt yourself if you increase your mileage too fast, but maybe that's what's contributing to my mental block.
The point is, I have a goal. It's very achievable even if I only add a mile to my run each month. But it sure sounds impressive, doesn't it?
Making changes to your lifestyle is hard. Whether it's eating better, exercising more, or even something as simple as flossing every day, it's hard. I want to be lazy and just skip it. Tell myself, "I'll start tomorrow." But if it's a change you really want, you have to be honest with yourself and just do it. No excuses, no slacking. It'll be worth it in the end, right?
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