Falling in love again...

What the heck? Nope. Not that kind.

I'm talking about running. Yep. I love running.

I love running as much as I love cycling! Shocker!

I ran my LSD tonight. Not the drugs, mind you. Long steady distance. 1 hour continuous running, no stops. I didn't feel like I needed to stop so I didn't. 4.75 miles. My 2 short runs this week were 3.5 miles.

Imagine that. Especially when I can barely run a mile straight without feeling like I was going to die last January. Even two months ago.

Then it somehow just clicked.

I used to think, "Dang! Why run when you can bike instead?" I thought people who actually run long distances (longer than a mile, BTW) for fun are nuts! That's just too much work and suffering. And let's not forget the pain.

When did I start entertaining the idea? Let's see. I blame it on being surrounded by runners. A good friend, Diane is one. Then there's Lisa, Jeffrey, Helen, Kevin, Ralph then Tani. Then my VP, Ron and I talk about running a lot too at work. I have become fascinated by their running experiences. Big Sur Half, Nike Women's Half, NY Marathon, CIM, and so many others. They have become my inspiration.

So I said to myself, why not give it a try. Why not cross-train this off-season by running. Maybe if I run, I can keep up with these runners when I ride. With limited daylight, my cycling miles have been almost cut in half anyway. I have been down to 40-50 miles per week. Weekends only. Pathetic, I know.

So I grabbed a CHI running training plan for a 10k then slowly picked up where I left of last March. I started running. I tried to remember the skills Kathy G taught us during the Chi Running clinic. Run - walk - run. Then one evening, I felt so good, I just started running continuously. I was shocked that I really enjoyed it. I expected to feel tolerant about it - just like how one does chores. But I never expected to actually love it.

Then I did the Merrell Mud Run in Granite Bay last Oct. What a blast! I don't remember having that much fun in a single event. I ran the 5k with 7 obstacles and really really enjoyed it. Sometime during that run, I realized that I was really running the course.

I feel like I'm cheating on my 3 road bikes - Ruby, Terry and Shirley - with my running shoes.

There's hope for me yet.