Hello, my name is....

Kate!

I’ve had this blog set up for a couple of months now, but so far its only use has been to make it easier to keep up with all the great blogs I follow, and to give me an identity when I (rarely) come out of the dark to comment on someone’s post. Now seems as good a time as any to begin posting some of my own thoughts to the wide world.

A little background on my athletic life: I was a very active kid, playing soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, and running track through high school. In college, all of that came to a screeching halt. It wasn’t so much a conscious decision to stop as it was simply that I found my time being filled with other things (primarily the rigorous demands of architecture school). There were still moments when I returned to my old ways: a college course in tennis, hiking and camping trips, sea kayaking with my roommate, a brief foray into mountain biking. But I missed the camaraderie and accountability of team sports.

Fast forward to 2009 (and 32 years of age) and I am still struggling to lock onto my inner motivation and will to become the runner I long to be. I’ve participated in a couple of different running programs (the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk training group and USAFit), and I’ve completed 2 half-marathons. But the end of each program marked the end of consistent running. (Hence the blog title.) And here I find myself starting over once again.

This time feels different. Maybe it is just the eternal hope of Spring. Or maybe it is a change in my perspective brought on by a piece of wisdom from my oldest sister (I have 2). I was talking to S for the millionth time about my ambitions to run {fill in the blank} Marathon in 6 months and how I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to run 26.2 miles and reach one of my life’s goals. She stopped me with a simple question: “Why don’t you ever train for a 5K or 10K?”

In all the time that I have run consistently as an adult, I have always been training for the half-marathon or longer distance. I blame it on my athletic background and the feeling that I’m really not a beginner (even though all the evidence indicates otherwise). 5K? 10K? Those are races that any old schmoe could do. But a marathon? Now that’s the race for REAL athletes! But my sister’s simple question suddenly made so much sense to me. When I finally run a marathon - and I WILL - I want to do it right (if there is such a thing), and that means first becoming a consistent runner.

So here I am, in my 4th week of regular running, aiming to have completed 4 runs by Sunday for a weekly total of 12 miles. It pains me to write such a low number, but I am staying focused on consistency.

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This blog will primarily focus on my running obsession, but other bits of life will invariably find their way here. Stay tuned for a post about the blogs that first hooked me into this virtual running community, and the infamous 100 Things About Me list (it seems the simplest way to let you get a glimpse into my life without having to write endlessly). More to come!