Running From Excuses

Since I wrote my post about starting the Couch to 5K program two weeks ago, I've had many excuses not to go for my run three times each week.

I've had a cold, we went away for a few days, it was raining, I've been busy, I think I had shin splints... the list goes on.

But that's the thing, isn't it? There's ALWAYS an excuse not to exercise. It's not like any of us sit around, suddenly realising we have half an hour with nothing else to do, so we might as well go for a jog. It's about making time, not having time.

I knew that if I stopped or let go of even one scheduled day, I was at risk of letting the whole thing go. So... I got my runners on and out I went.

There was a day I couldn't be bothered leaving the house. So I ran dozens of laps around my backyard instead (my version of a treadmill, I guess!).

There was the day I began my session with my legs feeling like lead, my body feeling as though it weighed a ton, and I was sure I'd have to give up. I pushed through and, by the end of that half an hour, I was literally running with a smile on my face - I was so damned proud of myself for not giving up.

There was the day it was pouring with rain and freezing cold, and we were away. I went anyway, and ran to this view of Lake Eildon:

And there were many days where I've just had so much to do that I thought I couldn't possibly find the time to go for a run. But I did it anyway.

Do you know what else I've managed to do? I resolved a problem with a piece I'd been trying to write for months, just by walking away from it and going for a run; I came back and it all fell into place. I finished a manuscript, getting through long days of writing and editing by fighting my Afternoon Foggy-Head Syndrome with a run.

I'm loving this. There's no stopping me now.


Megan