OMG, no, KeelieGirl has a new hobby! Run Away!

No, no; don't run away (if you are actually reading this!) That just happens to be my new hobby... well, not running away (tho I suppose that could actually be fairly true sometimes!) - just running.

I can't believe I am actually writing those words - and not making them up! But indeed, it is true.

Well, I suppose it would be more accurate if I said I were jogging...slowly jogging. But whatever, it's not like it's a contest. Maybe a challenge, for myself.

Anyhow, so here's how my interest in this basically went over the course of my now fairly lengthy lifetime; I have never been a big fan of running; for the most part, most any running I did was not exactly voluntary. In school, I had to do it for the President's Physical Fitness program (which the hell president thought that was such a great idea, anyhow?) I remember I did do a short stint of voluntary running, I think to make it easier to get through that enforced run in school, but that lasted for maybe a couple of half-assed runs around the block. Maybe.
For the most part, I simply would not be caught running - unless perhaps someone was chasing me (and I wasn't quite fast enough to get away!)

The thing is, I have fairly big boobs. Not really a runner's physique. (Maybe a bouncer's.) I could walk all damn day long, but running? No thanks. Not that I'm an athletic type by any means, but strength training, walking, bicycling, cross country skiing, swimming - that's the kind of activity I'm built for. (It might seem kind of freaky that my one huge exception is horse-back riding - but then, I'll defy just about anything to ride horses, even gravity!)

It's not even that I wouldn't have liked to have been a runner - but I just sort of resigned myself to running being my consolation prize if I ever had the ill-fortune to develop breast cancer and had to undergo a double mastectomy. But with healthful wishing and all that, I finally came to the conclusion (after finally resigning myself to the fact that I really in truly needed to incorporate more diligent aerobic activities into my exercise program) that what the hell, if I wanna give running a serious try, it's totally stupid to let my boobs hold me back. After all, they don't make that infamous gravity-buster (pardon the almost-pun) - the sports bra, for just the mosquito-bitten runners amongst us.

So a quick shopping trip later and I've got the basic gear to start running. And start I did, two days ago! I ran with a friend who had some cross-country experience, and with his encouragement (and a small amount of badgering) I managed to run 1.5 miles with more or less just one "walking break" at about the 3/4 mile mark. I even threw in a couple of speed bursts while I was at it. I admit, I wanted to quit about halfway through, but with my friend's encouragement - along with the "coaching" (i.e., badgering) we joked around, even sang some silly songs to distract ourselves - or at least my self - from the grueling task underfoot. But - much to my amazement - I actually enjoyed the hell out of it! It felt great!

I know it's early in my new obsession - and I'm not exactly known for my persistence in many things - but I am hopeful that this will stick. Today I went for my second run, this time with my dog. It was a bit less ambitious, a little over half a mile, (tho it included some small hills - and it was snowing and dark out - I must surely be breaking a lot of "running rules" here) but the point was, I didn't want to lose my momentum now that I had finally decided to do this. And I have an appointment to run with my friend again two days from now; a commitment I aim to run headlong into! Woohoo!