Is it an addiction?
Is it still an addiction when something is technically good for you? If so, I think I MAY be getting addicted to running. It’s a really an odd thing for me to say that since as recently as the beginning of November I can honestly say that I hated running. Now when I was little I was told that hate was a bad word which when I think about it, I tend to agree, so I strongly disliked running.
Back then running even a mile brought dread to my mind. I never would have begun to imagine that I would get to a point where 3-4 miles is a short run and 6-8 miles is a regular run. It turns out that I was running in the wrong places (on a treadmill) at the run pace (too fast) and for the wrong reasons (to get it done, not for the enjoyment of it.)
Running the half marathon
Now that I’ve trained for a half marathon (couldn’t have done it without Team in Training), I’ve learned that there is no shame in walking and that the miles go by a lot faster if you have someone to chat with I’ve come to enjoy running a lot more. Now while even thinking about hopping on a treadmill still brings dread to my mind, thinking of running outside on a trail or in a race are things I really look forward to. In fact since my half marathon, I’ve been keeping up training runs on the weekend and have entered a couple races. I did a Valentine’s Day 10K Fun Run in Campbell and did the Emerald Across the Bay 12 K this past Sunday. Waking up early for these races or battling the rain as we did during the Emerald Across the Bay were not necessarily fun, but the excitement of meeting or beating my goal times will keep me coming back. I’m sure many people know just how competitive I can be and how true this is.
The most important thing to me though is to keep running fun. If running faster to beat my times stops being fun, I’ll try going further. If my body stops liking the running as my knees have the past couple weeks then I’ll take a break and focus on other workouts, but now that running has become a part of my life, I know that I will nver go back to strongly disliking it again. I think this will remain an addiction for life.
