Hello

My name is Karen. I am not a real runner. Until a week ago I was not a runner at all. I think I actually hate running, but I don't know much about it, so I shouldn't judge. I have given birth to 3 kids in the past 4 years, and my body needs at least a little exercise. Not that I was in great shape prior to having kids, but now seems like the perfect time to get that ball rolling. So thanks for the encouragement, Jesse, and thank you for inviting me to contribute to your blog.

I just finished reading a book called Run For It, about a woman who sounds like me... hated running, embarrassed about"jiggling" (we'll leave it at that), and who just kept hanging on to those extra tens of pounds since adolescence. Her name was also Karen. The key differences between us are that now she has run 3 marathons and taught running clinics.

I do not aspire to running marathons. I aspire to being a) not at all overweight, b) self confident, and c) IN SHAPE for once in my life. I am pretty sure running as a lifestyle can really help me reach those goals. So here I am... posting in the public forum might just help motivate me out the door when I am not feeling like it.

In the past week I have run 3.2 miles (thank you, MapMyRun).

More consistent

In the last couple weeks I have run a handful of occasions. Each one just before dawn--because any later than that and I cannot fit running in to my day. The distances are none too impressive, each about 1.5-2.0 miles. This seems be a distance short enough that I can rationalize it to myself enough that I do not resist putting on my running shoes. Once my shoes are on I actually look forward to bounding down the cool empty pavement, watching the sky slowly turn from a medium blue to aquamarine. One of these mornings when I feel I have more time, and I forget that I am intelligent, I think I'll go for a longer run to see the sky turn from blue to orange.