Happy National Running Day

Chick-Fil-A Race Series
Macon, GA - May 28, 2012

If you had asked me seven months ago if I would be celebrating National Running Day, I would have told you that someone must be chasing me if I'm running. Don't ask me how my running addiction happened. This, among other things, run though my head every time I lace up, including:

• How did I ever run in sneakers that really didn't fit properly? While they are cute, I now know that the Nike's that I bought at the outlet three years prior weren't really meant to be run in. Now that I have "real" running shoes, I cannot even put my feet in my old ones now. Not even to wear them to the store or to walk the dogs. Maybe I should bronze them like my mom did my baby shoes? Where's that spray paint?
• I wonder what I look like when I run? I dated boys who ran track and cross country in high school, but they never invited me to tag along on a run. Maybe my stride was is too dorky, because my husband won't run with me either. There are no mirrors or glass windows along my run. I'm pretty sure that's a good thing.
• I am so slow. I think this frequently, even when I'm not running. I read blogs where these women are running an 8 minute mile for 26.2 and still look cute at the end of the race. I've got to learn to accept that my times aren't going to improve overnight. Too bad Marty McFly can't take me to myself in 7 years and see what my times look like so I can not freak out about it.
• Have I hit my pace peak? I read somewhere that beginning runners will see the most progress in the first 9 months of running. After that, the improvements are marked in seconds, not minutes. If this is true the sand is almost out of my hourglass. Wait, did that 9 months start on the first day I started running (October 31, 2011) or my first 5k? That reporter should have been a bit more specific.
• What will I do if I lose a toenail? The biggest fear of training for a half or full - toenail loss. I love open toed shoes and I'm pretty sure I'd have to lay off the flip flops if I'm missing a toe covering. I wonder how long they take to grow back? Maybe I have extra strong toenails because how didn't I lose a toenail or two running in those crappy shoes for the first 200 miles of my running adventure is beyond me.

I've started this blog as more of a record of my running life and hope that one day when I'm running Boston for the first time I can look back and remember where I came from. Happy National Running Day to me.