I have a secret

I've been running. I started at the beginning of May, and I haven't really told anyone but M. A few people at work know about it just because they've seen me leaving the office in running clothes & coming back looking half-dead. Why the secret? Because I'm embarrassed by how unfit I am, and I was afraid it wouldn't really stick. See, I used to run fairly regularly, but since B was born, I've tried several times to get it going again, and have always failed.

But today I met my first personal goal, so I've decided I'm actually a runner again. What was the goal? To reach a total of 50 miles by the end of June. I just got back from a run, and my total so far is 51.6 miles. Plus my average pace for the month of June is half a minute faster than it was in May, and my average run is a quarter mile longer -- nice, even though those weren't actually goals I set, just progress I've observed. [I log my runs on runningahead.com -- I find that it really helps me to stay motivated when I can see my progress and my totals.]

I owe a lot to M for inspiring me to run and being supportive and encouraging as I've gotten going. About a year ago, M was certainly fit -- a devoted cyclist, but not a runner. I'm not sure why he started running, but he did, and then he ran more and more, and then he got really sick and started doing ultramarathons. It seemed like he was having a lot of fun, and seeing him go from non-runner to ultramarathoner in the span of a year is really what made me get off my butt and run.

I've got a long way to go before I could (as if I WOULD -- not!!) run a regular old (aka "easy" according to M) marathon, much less an ultramarathon, but I'm enjoying it, and am actually at a point where I feel like I *need* to run.

These are my new goals:
1. run 50 miles in the month of July
2. shave another 30 seconds off my average pace by the end of July
3. be able to run 10 miles by mid-September (without dying)

It will be harder than reaching my first goal was -- I'll have to both bump up the frequency of my runs (the most I've managed to pull off so far is three per week; four or five would be better, but you know how it goes with little ones in the house and two working parents!) and gradually add distance too, plus I'll be on the road for 11 days in July. I can pack my running shoes & my ipod though, so no excuses!