Run, Jenny, Run!

I would like to reiterate that I HATE RUNNING.  I’m a gym girl.  I’ll do pretty much anything besides run- yoga, weight lifting, spinning, stairstepper, whatever.  JD used to hate running, but since starting the academy he’s been essentially forced into liking running, which is great for him, but means he asks me to go running with him at least once a week.

Usually I laugh at him and say no.  I mean, why would I voluntarily go out and do something that I hate?  But then, I reminded myself that sometimes we do things for our spouses to make them happy, even when we don’t want to.

This past Sunday, I finally caved.  It was a beautiful day, and a run at the nearby lake in my new Five Fingers sounded almost like a good time.

After a quick lesson on proper form in the parking lot (you have to run a bit differently than you would in regular running shoes), and some tips on better breathing techniques (short, quick breaths), we were off.

I have to admit, I kind of liked it.  Running in the Five Fingers was really cool.  At the risk of sounding too much like a tree-hugger, you feel more connected to the earth and centered in what you’re doing.  By concentrating on my breathing, I felt like I was almost in a meditative state, rather than sweating a my a** off, miserable state.

After the first mile and a half, my calves were already burning.  The new technique means you’re using you’re muscles differently, and I could tell I was going to be pretty sore.  By the next morning, not only were my calves sore, but the arches in my feet were sore as well.  Like, really sore.  So sore that I had a bit of a limp when I’d get up after sitting for a while, and I could barely make it down the stairs in the morning.  

Today, I sucked it up and ran again through the soreness.  It wasn’t as fun as the first time- the weather wasn’t as nice, my calves and feet were on fire, and I didn’t have the same determination as I did over the weekend, but... I did it anyway.  Maybe there’s a runner in me after all.

Maybe.

We’ll see.