I ran. The activity, not the country.

Yes, I got my plump butt out on the road and I ran. Normal people strolling could probably have gone faster than I did, but I was out there so it counts. Now I should admit that I am an occasional runner who was once much more serious about it. I ran a marathon in 2008. I ran a half marathon in November. But I haven't run since then. And quite honestly, before the half, I ran almost not at all for several months so the race itself hardly counts (and damn near crippled me to boot). In the past several years, I have had a habit of running once and then not getting out and doing it again for weeks or months. And this time I want it to be different. My neighbor, the one who convinced me to run the half in November, has suggested that we run another one in October. And I am leaning towards saying yes. But only if I really commit to training beforehand. Because the other way is truly hideous.

Anyway, today. I really didn't want to go out. But the sun was shining and it looked all appealing and all to be outside. And if I was going to be outside, I was going to feel guilty if I didn't actually exercise out there. Guilt is a huge motivator for me and I'm not even Catholic. So I dragged on the neglected running gear, grabbed the iPod, and headed out. Luckily I started running to Kid Rock's All Summer Long, which put a huge smile on my face. As I trucked on down the road, I played the drums enthusiastically and sang under my breath (see how slow I go?). I could only muster drumming with one arm though so I probably looked a little off balance. Either that, or I looked like the drummer for Def Leppard but without any talent and unable to carry a tune in a bucket. Sadly, some of my neighbors (ones I actually know) were outside to witness this atrocity. I had to pretend to be so engrossed in my song and my run that I didn't see them. Pitiful.

The song kept me going for a while and I thought I had it set to play my marathon play list. Not so. Somehow I was treated to a whole slew of slow country ballads. These are not so good for encouraging me to keep on keeping on. I did though because occasionally I can beat back the whiner in my head but I clearly need to put some new music on the iPod. Methinks some Pitbull is in my future. Would it be tacky to use the kids' iTunes gift cards from Christmas to load up my running music? I managed to run a good 3+ miles so I'm pleased with that. Hopefully I can still walk tomorrow because I fully intend to get out on the road and waddle on again. Between this and my crunches, I might actually drag some muscles to the surface. Wouldn't that be amazing?