Why I decided to run a half marathon
I decided to run a half marathon.
I am one of those crazy people who wakes up early to run.
Training for this half marathon has been an exercise in time management and prioritization. Most weekdays, I wake up at 5 a.m. to run 3-4 miles before work. I don’t mind early mornings, so this works for me. I like waking up before the sun rises and seeing the sky transform as I run. I prefer this time of day for my daily runs because I can cross this very important task off my to-do list right away; as the day progresses, it becomes less likely that I will end up going for that run, because it has to compete with other things I also need to do, that can also be done after work: errands, writing, meeting friends for dinner and drinks, etc.
The morning run is simple; I don’t have to think about it, I just do. There is nothing else I could be doing with this time—besides sleeping—but I’m already awake so I might as well run.
Training as a runner interferes with my social life and makes me boring.
There are things I don’t like about waking up early to run, believe it or not. Primarily, it makes it difficult to do another thing I love, which is meeting friends at bars and restaurants to partake in the consumption of food and booze. I love the decadence of an elevated burger and a bottle of prosecco for dinner while discussing events from the past week, relationships and dating, work, books, and the ferocious coolness of our neighborhood with a friend or two.
But now, as an athlete with purpose, as a runner with a clear goal, I am conflicted about continuing to engage in this habit to the extent that I have in the past. I no longer want to go out during the week because it’s difficult to do this and go to bed at an hour that won’t make my 5 a.m. wake up miserable. Also, cocktails do not a good runner make. Also, I’m trying to eat healthier and this is not easy to do when going out all the time.
So I’ve started saying no to more invites of this nature lately. I won’t cut this part of my life out completely because that would be no fun, unnecessary, and unrealistic. But I am amazed that running and, specifically, training for a half marathon, have motivated me to choose eating healthy and abstaining from alcohol over boozing and burgering with my friends most days.
I consider this both a loss and a win at once. A loss, because I get to see my friends less often and miss out on a lot of the carousing that I used to live for.
And a win, because it seems a very adult, disciplined thing to do. And it’s good for me—by the way I’m making better decisions for my health and well-being! Hooray!
I’ve been rather good at Adulting lately.
Deciding to run a half marathon has made me an excellent adult. It’s strange, the clarity you get once you set a goal that properly motivates you; the stars align and you know what you want, know what you have to do, and all distraction just...falls away.
I am waking up early and making good decisions for myself and finding balance and working toward a finite goal and doing my best to set myself up for success.
germansingergirl
vaporwave
2087