Why do I run?

This question was flowing through my mind a lot on Sunday while I was suffering through my run. I first started running because it took me too long to walk my four miles and I wanted to speed that up. I also had some encouragement from some guys on a weight watchers board, but the reality was I wanted to finish my workout faster and burn more calories.

Somewhere along the way, I started to enjoy the run itself. I can't really pinpoint it, but I think it was when I ran a mile without stopping the first time. It felt like I had accomplished something and physically, I felt great. As my distance increased, I got encouraged to enter a 5K and last March I ran three of them. I liked the fact that it was a competitive event without a lot of egos. After the race, everyone was smiling and having a good time no matter how fast (or slow) they ran. As more weight came off and my distances went further, I looked for new challenges. First I stretched the races out to 8K's and 10K's and finally a couple of half marathons. I felt great while training and running them.

Marathon training was always a little different for me. It seemed to put me on a much more rigid schedule and took a lot of family time away. I mean, I might as well take up golf if I am going to be gone out on a run for half a day on Sunday. I became uptight about making each training run. Basically, running became a job instead of a hobby. I think all that came to a head on Sunday when I crashed. Why was I running a marathon? It was the 'next logical step' in my running was the best answer I came up with. Well, now I realize that I want to get back to running for fun. I have a good enough base that I can stay in half marathon shape year round and enjoy races when they come up.

I am very happy that I didn't get injured in this and lose my ability to run for a few months. I am going to spend this week reviewing my goals for the year and making sure they are in line with 'fun running'. I want this to continue to be a lifestyle and not a short term obsession that I burn out on....