Tonight I ran continuously for a longer distance I ever have in my whole life.
Eight weeks ago I struggled through a mile. A week later I struggled through two. For seven weeks I hated running. I think I’m starting to warm up to it now.
I’ve been training for the Monument 10K, which happens on April 5. This is my third one, and this is the first year I’ve actually trained appropriately. This is also, not coincidentally, that I feel amazing after running 5.5 miles tonight. I mean, I hurt, and tomorrow will be horrible, but I felt really good. Who knew that if you train for something, it gets easier? Four years ago when I ran my first 10K, I barely got through it. The distance daunted me most of all, and then to boot around mile 4 my foot cramped up so bad I had to walk on the side of it nearly the rest of the race (I just realized how odd it is that the total distance is declared in kilometers, but as you run the race, the mile is the distance marker of choice).
Thanks to my friends at work, I was encouraged to join the YMCA training team. We run weekly as a group, and we have a schedule we run during the week. I haven’t hit them all, but I’ve done definitely more than the other two 10Ks I’ve done. And I believe I have run more miles this year alone than in my life before January 20th, 2008 combined. That’s kinda crazy.
So I’m surprised how beneficial training has been. I mean, I still can’t go the pace I want, but I notice the difference between now and when I started. 6.2 miles is no longer a daunting task. I’ll probably run 3 or so consistently after the race just to keep going. Maybe lose some more weight and get in shape for the half marathon in November. 
The moral of the story: if you set a goal, work for it. It’ll be hard at first, but as cliche as it sounds, it’ll pay off in the end. And go run a 10K. I gotta go ice my calves.
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.