Make It Or Break It

Word on the street is that it takes two weeks to make or break a habit. I forced myself into believing this when I started training for a 5K this summer. The race was in November and while I had these initial images of paramedics following me closely over those 3.4 miles, I ended up not only finishing the race, but running the whole way. The next challenge on the horizon is the 10K. For those of you who are not familiar or simply don’t care about the world of running, this equates to a little over six miles. For me, this would currently clock me at roughly sixty five minutes of straight forward motion. While some runners focus on beating their best time, I am focusing on simply finishing. The race is in April so I have a little over two months to prepare myself. In more optimistic terms, I am giving myself two weeks to make a new habit – running four miles. After that, the ante will be upped to five and well, you see the trend. It is a fact that I now get rather disgruntled if I go more than a day without hitting the pavement, or in the months of December thru March, the treadmill. It is also a fact that a mere eight years ago I never thought I would find myself running- gasp- for FUN. During High School I ran cross country to train for the upcoming and might I add, tough basketball season. My Cross Country coach was a woman named Janice who had a strong New York accent and wore a clip-on hair extension. Basically, I learned to expect all sass all the time. There were race days where she would encourage us to yell obscenities at her and show her some colorful hand gestures under one condition, we keep running. While there were times when I happily took her up on these suggestions, I have to say they did work. Oh Janice, wherever you are, I know you would be proud. Turns out several weeks may not be enough to mold someone into a fitness junky but it certainly plants the seed. Please note this current enthusiasm because there is a strong possibility there will be a future post completely derailing my running progress. However, I will say to anyone who thought they could never be a runner; I am proof that you can become one. Just plan on taking things (two) weeks at a time.