I’m Not A Runner, But I Play One On TV

Recap time folks: I am chronically unathletic. Because of this condition I avoided sports (with the exception of Ultimate Frisbee) like the plague and dentist appointments through high school and college. For some reason I also associated physical activity with athleticism and therefore didn’t do much to get or stay in shape.

In high school everyone knew I was the band/drama/academic team geek and there was never any question as to my athletic ability. So when I was a freshman in college, I was really confused why people kept asking if I was on the cross country team, or if I ran track in high school. Didn’t being in the marching band automatically correlate with non-athleticism? Apparently not. And apparently, unbeknownst to me for the first 18 years of my life, I look like a runner. I found this rather amusing because I hated running. Ever since I developed asthma in the second grade, not to mention my inability to really excel at any sport, running and overexerting my lungs just lost its appeal..

I’ve since outgrown the asthma and have come to realize I can still get in shape without having to become a killer basketball player. Since starting (and then, finishing) college there have been some short-lived occasions where getting shape was almost a reality; emphasis on short-lived and the almost part of that statement.

This weekend marked the beginning of the World Cup. I went to L-town to hang out with Trout. This, of course involved a lot of World Cup watching, and inspired us to go buy a soccer ball to kick around one afternoon. I suppose I could blame the altitude (L-town is at 7220 feet, a good 2000 feet above Denver), and after several short sprints and a little bit of mild jogging around the park, I was completely spent. I was not happy about this. However, I realize I have the ability to run decently, and hell, since I look like a runner, why can’t I be a runner?

Before I could talk myself out of it, as soon as we got back to Trout’s place, I ordered some new running shoes. I’m tired of being out of shape and feeling all lethargic and sluggish. It’s getting too hot out to actually walk to work now (with a 20 minute walk, if it’s above 70 degrees, I am too sweaty for comfort by the time I get to work), but I still want to get some sort of exercise. As soon as my new shoes arrive in the mail (hooray for zappos.com!), I’m going to start running in the mornings before work. No, seriously, I really am. Something happened this weekend and my frame of mind shifted. Instead of thinking I should exercise because it would be the right thing to do, I actually I want to exercise because it would make me feel better.

I realize it’s nothing profound, but it’s enough to get me out of bed every morning, put on my running shoes and do what I really never saw myself doing, ever: running just for the hell of it.

Works for me. Wish me luck.