Run, Nania, Run! (<--- That's a Forrest Gump Reference)

I'm not sure if you all knew this, but when I was in middle school, I ran cross country for a year.  If you want to get a sense for what kind of runner I was, I'll just say this.  I won the end-of-season superlative awards for, "Best Attitude" and "Friendliest."  Not exactly the most coveted prizes when you are an aspiring young athlete.

I ran cross country because my best friends at Power Middle school -- Claire, Jane, and Chelle -- ran cross country.  Not because I thought it would be fun, and not because I thought I'd be any good.  I just didn't want to be left out.  That's an 11 year-old's nightmare! But I could barely run a mile without stopping.  During the races, I was perpetually slow, purple-faced, and shallow-breathing.  Once, after a race, a particularly dreamy teammate of mine (Oh, John Lowry!) who I'd had a crush on all season -approached me.  I had been waiting for this moment for weeks.   He'd been done with our run for over 5 solid minutes, came up to me with a towel around his neck, a soap-opera-hunk-smile on his face.... hydrated and refreshed.  In my imagination, he said, "Nania, you are one hot mama and I wanna ask you to the school dance."  What he actually said was.... "Nania, were you okay during that race?  You looked terrible.  I almost told Coach Ragland that we should stop you."  Cue adolescent embarrassment and trauma.

But for me, the saddest part is that even in adulthood... I can still barely run a mile without stopping.  It's a sad state of affairs.  And I think I have some residual anxiety about running because of my 6th grade cross country days.  Moreover, from working at GW Hospital, I learned that it's actually a sign of decreased cardiovascular health if you can't hold your own on a one-mile run.  That bothered me.  So for over a year now, I've thought about how to combat this demon.  How can I get running off of my "Can't Do" list?  I know there are things in life I might not be able to do... (i.e. Go camping without complaining about how disgusting I feel), but running just doesn't seem like it should be one of them. I have a lot of inspiring, marathon-running friends and one of them suggested I run a 5K.  "Nan, it's about 3 and 1/2 miles.  You could totally do it.  You'd have to train some, but there are training schedules online.  And I know how much you like schedules."  

She was right.  I do love a good daily regiment.  And since I need to exercise anyway, why not exercise with a goal?  So I guess I'll give it a shot.  And I'm telling you all this so that I feel pressured to follow through.  Hold me accountable for these words.  (If you remember, please ask me every so often how the training is going, and if I change the subject or look down at Tinger in shame, you've successfully done your job in guilting me back to my goal. What a good friend you are!)  

I'm going to end with two things I enjoy doing:  1.) Posting a picture or two.  And 2.) Saying, "I'm not trying to make excuses for myself"... but then making a somewhat defensible excuse for myself. 

I'm not trying to make excuses for myself, but I'm going to give you another reason for my lack of running.  Women's running shoes are hideous.  Ladies, hollar if you hear me.  And if you know me well, you'll know that aesthetics are very important to me.  Reebok, Nike, Asics, Saucony, why are all of your women's athletic shoes pastel-colored?  Why? And why the heinous color-combinations?  White + Petal Pink + Lilac + Hot Pink is a combo you will never see on my feet unless I eat an 8 year-old girl's birthday cake and then barf right onto my shoes.  

Here are my favorite pair of old running shoes by New Balance... the perfect color scheme... gender-neutral and pleasing to the eye.  They are, of course, no longer on the market.  Even though they are pretty worn down - I've kept them because I love them, and they go great with the
"new-but-looks-old" t-shirt + fitted hoodie + jeans combination.

I searched for them long and hard when this pair started to run thin on me... and was able to find the single remaining pair in existence online at Sears... in a size 5.  No offense to any of my pint-sized readers, but I was a size 5 in the 6th grade.  I remember this because, I used to run Cross Country.  Did I ever tell you that? 

-NL