I read a great article from Women's Running about the pace at which you run. I shared it on my Facebook Page and I thought it was good enough of a topic that I should write up a blog post about it. As many of you may know, I love to run. It was been a thing that I have enjoyed since I was a small child. It is just a part of who I am. I totally understand that those feelings (of enjoyment, delight, eager anticipation) may not be shared by you. In fact you may HATE running. The only time you might run is when you are running away from something that is going to kill you. That is ok. I am not offended that you may not LOVE one of my favorite pass times. I am not going to judge you. I will take some time and encourage you to find something that you enjoy doing that gets you moving, and keeps you active. Find whatever that is and set a goal for yourself and go after it!
Now maybe a few of you reading this don't loathe running and you have always wanted to complete a race. You probably know lots of people who have run in races, gotten medals, and you think to yourself "if they can do it, surely I can too!" You are totally right! Starting with something do-able like a 5K (3.1 miles). You can run or walk and that is the best race distance to start off with if you are dipping your toe into the this new world of running. In fact the 5K is the most popular race distance! In the USA there have been 8.3 million 5K finishers. 58% of those finishers were women and 42% were men. Isn't that amazing?! If there are 8.3 million people able to run 3.1 miles ... guess what ... you can to!
Now you might also be thinking "I am so slow, everyone will be passing me." If so, then so what! It doesn't matter. You are out there working hard, sweaty and moving yourself toward a goal. That is the important part and how long it takes you, means nothing. Lots of people feel self conscious when they run. That is totally normally and with time that feeling will slowly go away. Most of the time people, are not watching you and if they are, you should be proud of yourself that you are out there running as they sit in your car and just drive by.
If you need some encouragement make sure to check out the Women's Running article about why running slow doesn't matter. It always makes me sad when people talk about running and then follow it up with the comment "well I am just slow" or they put themselves down. We need to stop doing that and take pride in the fact that we are out there exercising and trying to be the best versions of ourselves. If you need a training program help you accomplish your goal of running 3.1 miles then check out the Couch to 5K app on your smart phone. This is a great program to tell you exactly what to do to get yourself in shape to run in a safe way. So grab a buddy (a person or a dog), pick a goal and get yourself outside and moving!
