I’ll be the first to admit that I hate running. I hate it with a passion. Even when I was in the military, and it was my job to run, it was the biggest chore in the world. Well, I’m back at it again with 2 miles as my goal.

Unlike some of you run-gurus, I’m starting off slow…VERY slow. I started running on Monday. So, let me tell you what I did this week.

Monday: 0.6 miles – One circuit around the block made my first run nothing short of torture. Seriously, it was all I could do not to pass out, but I didn’t walk once. Woot! Big triumph.

Wednesay: 0.6 miles – Despite being sore from Monday, I hit the road again. More torture. A little less motivated, I did stop running and probably walked 0.2 of a mile back home.

Friday: 0.8 miles – I came to the conclusion before I set out that I didn’t have to run the entire time. Even when I was in the military, I never ran the entire 2 miles of the AFPT test. I did it in a combination of walking and running. So I ran to the stables (0.4 miles)…well almost to the stables. I was actually a few yards short. Then I walked/ran back. Not the best run time, and really, I wasn’t nearly as tired as I was on Monday and Wednesday.

Saturday: 0.8 miles – Okay. I woke up this morning thinking I could do better than yesterday. Honestly, my body was getting used to the running. The torturous feeling I had the first two times was gone. And I remember yesterday reaching a point where I just didn’t want to run any more. Not really that I couldn’t run. I just didn’t want to do it, and I didn’t. Today I set off with the point of assessing my mental as well as my physical state and here is what I found.

About a quarter of the way to the stables I felt the run in my legs. Yes, I wanted to stop, but kept going cause I knew I could. Half-way to the stables my legs received their wake-up call, but my cardiovascular system wanted to make a fuss. Three-quarters of the way to the stables, my body stabilized and was some what on board with the run. It was my mind which said screw this shit.

I finished the 0.4 miles to the stables without walking then walked/ran back. Because I knew it was more of a mental thing, I managed to do more running than walking and shaved off 2 minutes from time from yesterday. My ultimate goal is to do the round trip without walking.

One thing about today’s run, I’m feeling a bit more motivated. I might actually get out there and run again this evening. My goal is to push to the stables and a quarter of the way back before walking. Then pull off my walk/run routine. I know I can do it, I just have to keep telling myself not to stop…just a little more.

So my question is: How do you manage to get over mental hurdles?