Running Made Easy

Today’s Run

Time – 1:03:25
Distance – 6.6 miles
Pace – 9:34 min/mi
Elevation – 146 ft.

I went out with the intention of running a warm up, then 20 minutes or 3 miles of running “with effort” (harder than my easy runs, but not at 10K race pace), then a cool down. I got through 2 miles, and my watch app failed on me, and I had to walk a little to try and fix it. Thus, my run ended up being 25:00 of good effort followed by weirdness, surrounded by a warm up and cool down. I accomplished my goal. It felt good, I was able to keep pace, although I still don’t have the best tracking ability yet (watch apps continue to fail me). As much as I hate treadmills, they do allow for very specific workouts to be achieved. Maybe I’ll have to add those back in for key workouts until it gets warm enough to do track workouts.

How to make running easy

Running is easier for me than I ever thought it would be. Not the effort itself, mind you, that still sucks and is really hard. Getting out the door has gotten easy. I can get the gear together, put on my hat and gloves, and pick a direction because of one thing that makes all of my runs something I do 5–6 times a week.

The NUMBER ONE THING that makes running easy is a good support structure at home.

The Wife asks me regularly when I’m going to get my run in. She’s the biggest reason for my success in making a run a part of my day.

She and I have talked about how it is important I feel that running is. I’ve got a lot of reasons to run. There’s four that live in the house with me: her, the Teenager, Little Buddy, and Baby Girl. My health is imperative to being around as my kids age. I need to do everything I can to take care of myself and be around to walk Baby Girl down the aisle, or help the Teenager learn to drive, or watch as Little Buddy becomes a fine young man. I want to see the grandkids one day, so I need to take care of myself now.

The Wife understands this goal, and, frankly, she wants me around, too…most of the time. The Wife wants us to be able to retire one day, to travel, and to spend as much of our lives together as possible.

I’ve got good friends and acquaintances through the Runwell group, Twitter, and Facebook to share running stories, ideas, and to ask questions. They are there as my “comrades in arms” with regards to the “Trials of Miles.” Being just as crazy as I am, they are there to help me when I’m getting frustrated, when I want to commiserate, or when I need a swift kick in the rear to get going again.

Getting out the door takes a team effort. It starts with my plans and goals to motivate me, and goes on with positive support and encouragement from those around me. This blog has helped, too, because it gives me a way to talk about my running without driving The Wife and kids crazy with constant “running talk.”

This is the same thing that made my weight loss possible. Through a supportive family, the program at Frye Functional Health, and the group online on Facebook, I was able to meet those goals as well. Yes, I had to make all of the choices and do the work, but having someone prop me up on tough days and cheer with me during my successes made all of the difference.

Support structure is the biggest thing that is driving my success, both in running and in my other endeavors. Finding and building it has made this “easy.”

What is your support structure like?