Motivation

I was browsing through the Runner's World website today and came across a request for readers to submit little blurbs on what motivates them to get out and run. They asked specific questions, which I won't bother to post here because I think they all point towards the same question: What motivates you to get out there, day after day, and run?

I'm still trying to find an answer to that...it's a much harder question than it sounds off the bat. I guess my main motivator is that I want to run a marathon...and I can't even begin to tell you why I want to do that, so we won't go there today. I just know that in 7 months and 1 day I will be getting up at the crack of dawn to run 26.2 miles, and that's an insane amount of miles. Considering that I run about 2.5 miles right now (yes, in 30 minutes, I realize how slow I am) I know I have a long way to go, and by skipping any of my runs will really hurt that.

But the marathon aside, I'm actually starting to like running. I know, it's crazy and if you've known me for more than a couple of months, you can pull yourself off the ground and stop laughing...it's true. It's hard and I hurt when I go. Finding a place to change my clothes after work, battling the wind, rain or snow, or wondering what new muscle I'm going to discover each night is not so fun. But the feeling I get when I realize that I'm about to start my last running interval and the past 25 minutes have flown by is great. And when the day is over and I'm getting into bed, I can feel my body relax and I know I've done something that's hard - maybe not hard for other people, but hard for me.