Like this:

The decision to start running comes after many heartfelt attempts that didn’t carry-through into a habit. I swore to myself I would run a 5K last April, after finding out about it from a friend. I did about 3.5 weeks of the 8 week training schedule, following it to a T. And then school happened again. Stress, classes, sheer magnitude of new worries. And running took a backseat.

I’m picking it up again for a few reasons.
1. Because I would like to tone up a little. Not lose weight per se, I’m happy (relatively) where I am. But what’s the point of having long legs if they’re not sleek and toned?
2. I do, in fact, need to need something. I’m one of those people who wakes up wanting to have something that makes them get up. Something familiar, a routine, something to look forward to. Something to need. Rather than placing that on any other person, I decided to place it upon myself. I decided to seek out something that would leave me with lasting positive effects. Thus, I came back to running.
3. I’d like to know that I can follow through with it. That I can make it a habit, that I can make it routine. My brother’s girlfriend, Nichelle, says she doesn’t feel right if she doesn’t run every day. Nichelle, you are my motivation. I want that feeling.
4. I like to be alone, I like my quiet time. I get that quiet time reading books, but I would also really like to take it into a new setting, a new backdrop. Outdoors, maybe?
5. I’m also doing this to help my heart. I have MVP (not most valuable player.. I wish), bouts of SVT and I think steady conditioning will help my heart catch up with itself. I have a big heart, figuratively. I want it to be strong literally.

So all the reasons, all the motivations. I’ve been looking up and reading a lot (even about running barefoot! Seems interesting, but not yet. Maybe when I get to Edinburgh).

I’m setting very reasonable expectations. For the first months of this new habit, I’m going to run every other day. Give my body a chance to get used to the new stress. I’m going to hope that every-other-day becomes a habit within 51 days.. I’ll be leaving for Edinburgh for 10 months at that point. Then comes the crucial moment. I’ll be with my dad in London for ten days, which will be fun to run because he has a really nice park near his house, and he might even run with me. But then I’m up in Edinburgh, on my own, homesick up the wahzoo. The running will be at a crucial turning point — I either have to adamantly continue and make it happen, or it will just drop. I’m hoping that for the first few weeks, I’ll focus on keeping it up, maintaining it through the transition, and then WHAM. When it feels normal again, I will have gotten through the first few weeks completely on my own, living in a new country, with something concrete to focus on instead of homesickness.

That’s my plan.

I ran track and field in middle school, but I was always a sprinter. I’ve danced in the past (ballet, jazz, modern, bit of tap), but not every day. My goal is the long-term. To get to the point where I’m running every day. To where it feels weird not to run. To where I need it. What stamina. I’ll be so proud of myself.

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Run 10:30am.
A few circuits around the park and neighboring streets. Walk 1 min, jog 1 min. I felt surprisingly springy. Unexpected. Today I wanted to run.
Next run: Sunday.

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