Have I mentioned I hate running?

I've been a swimmer for as long as I can remember. My mom had me in the pool at the local YMCA for Mom and Tots when I was still an infant. By the time I was a teenager, I was teaching that class. I swam competitively (although I wasn't the best) until I as about 14 or 15 years old when I fell out of love with swimming. I had gained a little weight and found boys.

A few years ago, when I started with Team in Training, I fell back in love with swimming. This morning, I voluntarily jumped into the outside pool at 5:45 am and had a great workout. I had some music playing in my SwiMP3 and watched the sun come up.

I've also had a long love affair with my bike. When I was a kid, my parents allowed me a lot of freedom on my bike. I would ride my bike up and down my road and when I was older, I would ride for an hour into town and then back again. It was a small town and little traffic. So when I bought myself a nice little road bike a couple years back, it took only a few months and I was feeling pretty comfortable on my bike. Now, I look forward to getting on my bike and exploring a little bit more of the Kentucky countryside.

But running... I've never liked running. I dreaded the day in gym in high school when we had to run the mile for the Presidential something-or-other. I don't remember ever owning sneakers for running in my childhood. When I began training for 1/2 marathon 3 years ago, I thought I was crazy. My family and friends thought I was crazy. But I trained for more than 4 months, running about 3 times a week. And I grew to really enjoy it. I got into a rhythm that I enjoyed. I was (am!) slow as molasses, but I could run 6 or 7 miles without too much difficulty.

Then I developed plantar fascitis. Not only did I stop running but I also had to cut back on the biking. I made trips to the podiatrist and the physical therapist. In the end, losing weight was the trick to improving my two feet. And now I'm back in the game.

So tomorrow, I'm getting up early to hit the road at 5:00 am. Running in the morning is the easiest - it is cool and dark. I can hide my slow ass in the darkness and get lost in the songs on my iPhone. While I don't necessarily dread getting out there and running, I certainly don't look forward to it. But I wonder if half the reason is because I don't run very quickly. It's my weakest sport and I hate feeling that weak.

So, when you wake up tomorrow and get ready for work, think of me. I've taken a couple steps towards improving my run time. Maybe I'll even like running again one day. Maybe I'll even get faster!