Running: Not meant for sausage legs

 

So, no, I am not naturally a runner.  I naturally have little sausage legs that don't move very fast.  Nevertheless, I am not someone to miss out on something because I don't think the sausage legs can keep up, I just have to work harder.

In line with my only real addiction (i.e. overbooking my time), I decided a few summers ago that since I had just switched positions at work, was working on school and planning a wedding, naturally that was the best time to train for a half-marathon.  Sausage legs, activate!

I started training by my house, which is a lovely place to run, and made good friends with the dairy cows and the farmer that I run by every day.  He makes a point to stop what he is doing every time and give me a big long wave.  The cows really like it when I wear yellow, they always start following me when I wear that color.  As the distances started getting longer though, and hills are like kryptonite to me, I discovered that I couldn't really run further than about 6 miles without being eaten alive by the hills of the kettle moraine landscape.  I forgot to mention that I REFUSE to run the same area more than twice, once going and once returning.  I can only do it if I trick myself that I am only running 2-3 miles (out), and then just have to go home (back).

I trained my long runs on the exact trail my race would be on, the Eisenbahn state trail in West Bend, which is nice but I did miss the cows.  At any rate, it was nice on race day that I knew what I was heading towards.

 

I discovered that although I am not really built for running, it was an important part of my day to clear my head, work through a problem, get out some frustration, or just go visit my bovine friends.  Luckily, I have some runner friends, and they always helped provide some motivation.  I made the most incredible running playlist that even matched up with my walk breaks and included a song that reminded me of every friend who was a runner so that it motivated me when it came on (e.g. see soundtracking your life).  I have no idea what my race time was for the half-marathon, but I felt great the entire time, which was the only goal.

 

My husband and I signed up for a 10k this summer finally, which is not as long of a distance, but still requires some attention to training so I don't die the minute the running course hands me an incline any bigger than my driveway.  Since I never run in a really great routine without a commitment for a race, I am enjoying getting back on the road regularly to run and clear my head.  The cows missed me.