It's still awful -- but slightly less awful

I've wanted to be a runner for over a decade. I remember going for jogs in Cleveland Park when I lived in Greenville. I could probably run for 30 seconds at a time. Then walk for 2 minutes, then run for 30 seconds. I never improved because I never kept up with it.

Every year or so I make another attempt. I run for about a week or two, and then I drop it like a bad habit. I've been running in the same pair of gray and pink Adidas that were a Christmas gift to 15 year old Stargirl.

So, it was time for my annual running attempt. Turns out I have several friends who run. Some run casually. Some run regularly. A couple of the local breweries have running clubs so I decided to join a couple weeks ago.

I hung back with my casual running friends. We argued whether we would do the 1 or 3 mile loops. I was going to attempt the 3 mile loop and talked them into it. I'm short and have a snail's pace. Most of them could walk as fast as I could jog, so I told them to leave me behind. Every once in a while one of them would turn around and wave, but soon the turns in the path meant we were no longer in each others' line of sight. But I wasn't alone and I wasn't last, so I kept running.

About 45 minutes later I was done. It sucked pretty hard, but the day ended with beer and tacos, so we'll call it a win. I realized that I enjoyed running with others. I realized that I preferred running without music.

So, I did it again the next week (no friends this time, but this brewery run attracts around 200 people so I was far from alone). I've replaced my 14 y/o trainers, and it's sucking less and less every day.

I'm posting this for posterity. Maybe this time I'll feel too guilty to quit. Because on my list of "Things to do before I'm 30" is "Start running regularly-- and keep it up!"