Is there anything worse than losing a skill you were once good at? It’s so frustrating to have to try so hard to just be average at something when you know that once upon a time you were better than average. You rocked.
That is exactly what happened to my relationship with running.
I used to be great runner. With the right training and some dedication, I became faster than a shopaholic chasing that last coveted hand bag at an end of season sale. There was no stopping me when I was in my running zone.
We were lovers—running and I. But we hit a rough patch. There were injuries had and babies born that formed a wedge between myself and my running shoes. We took a break.
After quite a significant hiatus, I recently decided it was time to get back together with my long-lost lover. Running and I broke up out of circumstance, but let me tell you, I had a much harder time breaking off my affair with laziness. We had gotten so comfortable together.
It seemed that every time I built up the courage to rekindle the running romance, I either got road blocked by the universe, or my toxic, secret lover—laziness—slipped me an excuse, and running was out of the picture for yet another day.
But the time had come, and I had had enough. I put the kibosh on laziness and was hell-bent on getting running back in my life for good. I was wearing the running pants in this relationship, and laziness could eat my dust. We were through.
Here are the excuses I said goodbye to when my running shoe kicked laziness’ back-side on the way out the front door :
But, the weather…
It’s too hot. It’s too cold. It’s raining. Trust me, I know them all.
I used to sell out to Mother Nature all the time. But I now think of weather as a challenge. Can I dig deep enough to snap my wrist in Mother Nature’s face, and tell her to "talk to the hand" as I run through whatever crap, anti-running weather she tries to throw at me? You bet I can.
I don’t have the time…
This was a favourite of mine. Having two kids under two years old was the perfect excuse to claim that there wasn’t 20 minutes to spare in my day.
I stepped back and took a critical look at my time management. If I could find the time to crawl out from under my rock and (better late than never) catch up on the entire 6 seasons of Breaking Bad, I could find time for a run.
I just had a shower…
You might laugh, but this was a genuine stumbling block.
Who wants to sweat up freshly washed and blow-dried hair?! It’s the worst. It’s like rockin a great new outfit, feeling fantastic, and having nowhere to go. It’s a bummer, there’s no doubt about it. So if you’re like me, either plan your shower after your run, have a second shower, get yourself some dry shampoo and deodorant, or just stay stinky (but you might not make many friends with the last option).
So there you have it.
My relationship with laziness and excuses is over and done. I’m back in a full-on love-fest with running. You can find us steaming up the pavement together no matter what the weather, tv schedule, or state of my hair.
Instead of finding a reason not to run, I have decided to be fit and active. I run along telling myself wonderful things like, "You are strong. You are determined. You are melting the cellulite off your thighs with every step you take." I remind myself that I’m lucky to be injury-free, healthy, and able enough to chose whether or not to go for a run. It’s a choice denied by many. So when I look outside and see a PMS-ing Mother Nature, hiding behind a dark rain cloud, I flick off the tv, tie up my hair, put on my trainers, and you bet your ass I go for a run!
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