Why I Love Running?

….so I had been wanting to tell you why I love running for a while but I was a little apprehensive about it. Ever since I registered for the half marathon, my love for running has grown ever more but along with that, I have been getting some raised eye-brows as to why I think it is a good idea to run 5 + miles on a Saturday morning and not to mention lots of praises and encouragements. I appreciate all the positive juju from everyone who has been reading and commenting on my weekly running updates. First of all, I do not consider myself a runner but I will pick running over any other form of exercise – running is also my therapy, the way I destress and clear my head. I started running regularly after my 1st 10K in october 2010. I had never ran 10K in my life before that but along with two of my friends, we signed up for a race and simply ran….since then I have not looked back and within the last three years, I have ran several small races and 2 half-marathons and in exactly 43 days, I will be running my 3rd half-marathon. So, here are my top three reasons so to why I love running.

• I love running because makes me feel healthy inside out: Whenever I run regardless of the distance, it leaves me feeling strong and healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.
• I don’t do much outdoor activities besides running so this is my only way to connect with the nature; I absolutely love breathing fresh air in the morning and seeing the sunrise is pretty amazing. Also, I am not good at any sports so this is how I stay athletic.
• Running is a great reminder to be grateful for things such as your legs…or just a healthy, well functioning body because we often taken those things for granted…and that we need to take good care of it.

Running is awesome but if you are training for a race, it’s a big commitment that requires time, pre-planning, and prioritizing things such as going to bed early on Friday vs. staying out late. Some of us may feel it is a lot of work which is partly true but if you love running, you will look forward to your long runs, soreness, and the feeling of accomplishment. Also, remember that you slowly build up on your running skills – I started from running 1-2 miles regularly to 9 miles now (woohoo). If you have always wanted to run – just put on your shoes and run, don’t let anything stop you…and if running is not your thing – that’s cool too.  I am not trying to recruit you to run although I am always happy when people tell me they ran/run (hi brother – I am 100% sure he never reads my posts). Sorry if you were hoping for something more exciting – I love running simply because I enjoy it. I am not in for being a professional runner or anything but that’s something I hope to continue for a very long time and possibly run a full marathon once in my lifetime. And lastly, I want to thank everyone (my family, friends, co-workers) for understanding, appreciating, and encouraging my running endeavor.

Here are the recaps from Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 week 4: didn’t do very good with running…boooo, week 5.week 6, week 7.

Week 8: So this week I have ran only twice, total of 14 miles (remember those cookies we celebrated with?) but I am just slowly gearing up for my 10 mile this weekend. I did not feel like running nor pushing myself because I am pretty happy with where I am.

• Strength training/stretch : brisk 2 mile walk,  30 minutes cardio ballet 
• Running: 14 miles total this week. Long run: 10 miles this weekend.
• Nutrition:  I am considering GU energy or some sort of quick glucose – any suggestions/recommendations would be great because I have never tried energy gels before.