How to get and stay motivated

I have rather distinct memories of running the mile in school, I always came in dead last, even the kids that walked did better than me. I also remember, trying out for my high school's soccer team Freshman year, part of it involved running a certain distance, a mile perhaps? I was the last one and they all tried to cheer me on and tell me I could do it, I wanted to scream, cry, and disappear. I've never been good at running. There was a girl on my tennis team that I despised, but there was one day when she talked about running from campus to the courts we were using, almost five miles. Needless to say I was impressed. Perhaps this set off a spark in me. Becuase a couple of years ago I decided I wanted to become a bit of a runner, I set my sights as low as they can go, for a runner, I simply wanted to run in a 5k. I mentioned this to a few people and they all seemed rather impressed, though my boyfriend at the time scoffed at the idea, perhaps thinking i wanted to run a marathon. This set into motion my "training" as it were.

I mentioned this to my sister and she too had decided around the same time to run a 5k. She found a training guide properly titled "The Couch to 5-k running plan". It interspersed running and walking, each week adding on some running and doing less walking, until finally by week 8 or 9 you would be running a 5k. I began doing this rather religiously, marking off the days on my calendar, then I got sick. Nothing major mind you, just a cold, but of course I allowed it to sideline my training. I was never fully able to start back on training again, though I did run a 5k.

I was driving one day when I heard an ad for a 5k to benefit ALS. The race was only about two and a half weeks away, but I am a huge Lou Gehrig fan so I knew that I had to participate. i tried to run every other day up until my race. When race day finally came, I was rather excited, though disappointed all at the same time. As I mulled around the crowd of people waiting for the events to begin I noticed many people had their own little cheering sections, I had no one. When we lined up for the race, I found my way to the very back, hoping for the best. I ran the first full mile and then ran/walked it from there. I came in at exactly 45 minutes, which doesn't mean much to me, good or bad, I was just proud of myself for my accomplishment.

Right after I moved back home, I read about a 5k they were having in my town, to go along with a local festival. I wanted to participate but I hurt my foot and was unsure if running would really be best for it. So, sadly to say, I haven't been training and seeing as how the race is Saturday, I won't be participating. However, I know that I put in motion the will to train. If you have something you are training for it makes it that much easier. So, go train, and good luck.