For the Love of Running

Like a lot of people, I have a love/hate relationship with running. I have my ups and downs; I have my "I don't ever want to do this again" runs, and my "I could keep going forever" runs. Good thing is the positive outweighs the negative. Usually.

The crew over at #Runchat challenged everyone to list 5-10 reasons why they love running. You can find out more about the challenge here. 

With that being said, here are 5 reasons I love to run (in no particular order.): 

1. Accomplishment. I love that feeling. When I hit my first 3 mile mark (seriously, didn't think I'd go past 3 miles, or want to after that moment), then 4 miles, 5, miles, 6 miles, and so on until I got to my furthest (so far) which is 13.1, and even it doesn't seem that far anymore. There's nothing better than knowing you've accomplished something that your mind thinks you can't. I'm stubborn, and love to push my limits with both distance and pace. Sure, it sucks when runs don't go the way I want, but striving to reach that goal, no matter how far-fetched I think it might be? THAT'S an amazing feeling. 

2. Racing. I hate the race nerves that come with race day, but I love the competition, and love (most of) the result that come out of it. I love the training that I put in and knowing that the hard work has paid off. Placing a few times in your AG isn't so bad, either.

3. Discipline. Running is not easy. It's not always fun, and it hurts - mentally and physically. But the fact is, if you aren't disciplined with your running you aren't going to improve. The work you put in during training is what you will see on race day. And if you don't put the work in you won't see the results. It's as simple as that, and I'm reminded of it daily.

4. My husband (a.k.a my running coach) I love that he enjoys running with me. When he first started running with me it was torture for him, because he had to slow down so much. Now, his easy pace doesn't push me too hard, and I can keep up with him. I've always believed that couples should have something that they enjoy doing together whether it is riding bikes, rock climbing, going to football games, etc. Running is "our thing" and I love it. Training runs, race days, watching his triathlons - I love it all. 

5. Setting new goals. Okay, so this one ties in with number one, but whatever. I set a goal to complete a half marathon about two years ago. I've since run 3. I set a goal to run one in under 2 hours - crossed that off the list this past weekend. I'm constantly setting goals for myself, crossing them off, and setting new ones. I mean, what kind of runner DOESN'T want to improve?