One year of running!

I realized this morning--yesterday was my one-year anniversary of running!

Yesterday's run was rough--very rough. I had to turn around and walk home, because this one area that keeps bothering me (my IT band) started bothering me again. I am going to a rehab place on Monday to get it checked out, and hopefully with some professional help it can be resolved completely.

I'm almost glad I didn't realize at the time that it was my one-year anniversary run. That might have frustrated me even more! But with a good night's sleep and a plan of action that involves someone who knows what they're doing, I'm feeling pretty optimistic this morning.

And I want to focus today not on this particular struggle (which I plan to get past!) but on how far I've come. It's pretty exciting that a year ago, alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking was challenging. (That was what I did for the first week of Couch-to-5K.) A year later, I challenged myself with a 9-mile run last weekend, and completed it! Finishing that half marathon (13.1 miles) in five weeks will feel very, very good.

I love running. That's what keeps me motivated. (It's also why I get so frustrated and anxious when I have minor injuries.) Would we have fewer health-related problems in 2010 if more people found a type of exercise that they love? Maybe it's unrealistic, but I think that most of us can probably find that if we try enough different things. I'm just glad I discovered that I (the one who always said I wasn't athletic) can run, and can love it!