The Flogging Will Continue Until Morale Improves...

So. I made a promise to myself and I'm keeping it.

I'm running again.

I have waited to post about this until I was sure I could do it, that it wasn't just an outburst of energy that couldn't be controlled for a few days and then would lie fallow, its promise unfulfilled.

I've been running for about a month now and I've logged 18 runs and am over the 50 mile mark. And the worst part?

I'm enjoying it.

I've never considered myself a runner. I've never, enjoyed running, per se. Running was simply a necessary evil required by my choice of ministry. But I find myself out in the mornings about 6 AM and doing 3-4 miles on the average day, 2 fast miles on a light day and nearly 6 on a long slow day. And, except for the enormous hill I had not factored in to my route on the long, slow day, I've felt pretty good. That hill simply would not end. It went on forever. In fact, I still may be running on it...

But I feel better for doing it. And, I must admit, that I use some incredibly cheap motivations to do this. I tell myself I'm losing weight (I am). I tell myself it will help with the cholesterol (it will). I tell myself I'm going to run my first true marathon (I've run the distance before, but never been in a real race) (I will). But mostly, I trick myself with my iPod and its aural promises of escape from being pounded on for fifteen minutes to an hour.

And, to get even more detailed, I use a Nike+iPod dohicky that tells me precisely how far I've gone, records my runs to exacting detail, uploads them to a Nike website so that I can compare my runs, see my paces, set goals, accept challenges from other runners, and generally compare all kinds of useless data. Usually, I treat these kinds of things with scorn. Weaker men need that kind of motivation, I tell myself, then I look in the mirror and see a weaker man and plug the attachment on to my iPod and hit the road.

That's the thing, it really seems to work. Example: I set a goal for myself of running 16 times in 4 weeks. And, when I did a run that got posted to my web page, it showed me I was 1 run behind my target goal, so I ran for the next two days straight to catch up with where I needed to be. Oh sure, it's a cheap trick. It's a carrot in front of this particular donkey, but, hey, it got the donkey moving, didn't it?

Plus, I like being able to view all this data on all my runs. I don't know why, perhaps because I can actually see the improvement (which is small at this point, but present, nonetheless.) Maybe it's because I'm afraid of failing on my goals that I set for myself. Whatever it is, that stupid little thing gets me back out on the road, and keeps me there, even when I really would rather not get out and run.

So there you go. I'm going to keep running and setting new goals for myself. I'm really looking forward to the long retreat where I'll have both time AND space (a wide open country vineyard in wine country) to really start pushing distances out a bit.

I don't normally endorse these kinds of things, but if you are, like me, a fallen runner, then I can recommend getting yourself an iPod Nano, a pair of Nike+ shoes and the Sport Kit thing and getting back out there. It's worked well for me, at least.