I'm Going Jogging...

I believe it's jogging. Or yogging, it might be a soft "j." I'm not sure, but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild.
~Ron Burgundy, Anchorman

I love running. I never was a runner before college, but ever since then, I've made it a point to run as often as I can. I even went running on my honeymoon in Kauai on the edge of 20-foot ocean cliffs, with a purplish-pink sun rising in front of me and the Pacific spraying my face with every crashing wave. It was amazing! I've been running in Philly, Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas. I once went running on the boardwalk through Venice Beach, California in the early morning, right through the filming of a Hillary Duff music video (before she became so famous), blaring the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" so loud, that I had only realized what I'd done when people started raising their hands in the air as if to say "what the hell?" Oops! I just thought it was a bunch of people hanging around outside a henna tatoo place. But running is a great way to go sightseeing. They even have a running tour of New York City...I definitely have to do that some day.

When I run, I get in this kind of zone, as most other runners do. I forget what is going on around me. I can do just about anything while on a run. Sometimes I plan out the rest of my workout while listening to my iPod or formulate my grocery list. I daydream about about my dream home, dream car, or dream career, sometimes I ponder the theory of relativity, run through a few mathematical proofs, or knit...just whatever I'm in the mood for and whatever keeps my mind off the mileage.

The farthest I have ever run was 12 miles, not that far for a seasoned runner I guess. But I just can never seem to get past that mark. And I swear, every year I plan on running a marathon, but never am I able to stick to the training schedule. Actually, I have never participated in ANY sort of organized race. I can come up with a million excuses when I want to: I can't find the time, its too hot in the summer I'll get heat stroke, I'm pregnant (not presently, but when I was pregnant it was a wonderful excuse for everything). But in reality, marathons just scare me. I don't know if its trying to cram in long runs on the weekends, or planning around vacations, or the fear that I will crap in my running shorts in front of thousands of race spectators! You've heard that before, right? It's crazy, I mean, they're crazy! These marathoners are so dedicated to their finishing time that they would all together forgo the use of a port-a-potty for their own pants. Some say runners can't control it, and that's what scares me the most. If any of you have run a marathon before, have you actually seen this happen? Just curious.

Well...huh......what can I say to follow that one. Not much I guess. Just hope you all aren't reading this one during your lunch hour.