Oh, the Insanity!

I just finished running for 45 minutes. I'm running a 10K next weekend and if I don't run now I'll die. My friend Jared loves to run. My friend Heidi likes to run. I hate to run. And yet, since I moved to Colorado 5 years ago, I've run half a dozen races.

"Why?" you ask. For the competition? Definitely not (10-year-olds outrun me). For the exercise? Well, I need it, but that's not enough to make me pound the pavement. For the challenge? Nope. (I don't need to prove myself to anyone, particularly myself). I attribute my insanity to...peer pressure. It's true. There is some kind of weird vibe here that tells you running is just something you do — like eating or breathing. It's true that Colorado Springs boasts some of the most beautiful running trails (I prefer using the treadmill where there's air conditioning). But it goes further than that. People, like myself, who had formally wanted nothing more than to lounge on their couches and watch reruns of "Friends" come to Colorado and...run marathons!

I know! For me it started my first year here. My boss Annette invited me to run in the St. Patrick's Day 5K. After discovering it was physically possible for a person to run 3.1 miles all at once, I agreed. That's how I got sucked in. I ran three more 5Ks before I attempted my first 10K. To give you perspective, a 10K (6.2 miles) is small potatoes around here. Most people I know have run marathons and moved on to triathalons.

As I trained for my 10K last year, a friend asked if I would consider a triathalon. Consider it? Consider it???

"Sure."

Did that word actually come out of my mouth? That's when it hit me: I'd been brainwashed. Did I really believe I couldn't be the TV-watching, theater-going, book-reading person that I am and be accepted? If so, how far was I willing to go? Marathon? Triathalon? Ironman? It was time to stop the insanity! After my 10K, I put away my running shoes and made the decision to be who I am.

I ran 4.5 miles today...but I did it while watching "Les Miserables."