It’s time to get serious… about running. I went for a run, jog brisk walk with my running coach Heather. I’m afraid I disappointed her. I know I was a little disappointed in myself. However, she did give me some good advice which I’ve been thinking about.

Lately I haven’t been consistent with running. I have a schedule on my refrigerator, but I haven’t been good about sticking to it. Because I haven’t been consistent, I’ve almost regressed in running. I definitely haven’t improved.

That’s about to change.

I don’t need to run every day, but I’ve got to be consistent. I like exercizing, I just haven’t been willing to rearrange my schedule to work it in. Heather suggested picking four days a week (Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday) and blocking out time to run those days. It’ll make it possible for me to work out in the mornings and still go see music at night. Also, with consistency, I need to get on a better sleep schedule. That means going to bed by midnight and waking up by 9 a.m. That will help give me time in the mornings to get other stuff done like running errands, catching up on the news and getting ready for my day.

If anyone can do this - I can too. What I mean by that is anyone can run. You get better with practice. When I started I could barely run 20 seconds without having to stop. I eventually ran a minute, then three, then five, then ran a whole mile. My inconsistency has only stopped myself from being able to run farther and longer. I’ve found running is a lot like golf, you improve every time you go out. You are also only competing with yourself. You don’t need anyone else to do it. No one knows how you’re doing but yourself. That means you have to push yourself to continue to improve and not quit because you’re scared. I think it’s okay to ask for help and support. I need to get better at doing that.

Remember your goals and it’s okay to change them. When I decided I was going to become a runner I had all these lofty goals. I was going to run a half marathon, then I decided to sign up for three. I also signed up for two 5ks and a 7k along the way. It’s hard. I’m surrounded by inspirational people who have worked their butt off to become good runners and they make it look easy. I thought I could do it too and it would be easy for me. Now my goals have changed. If I’m ready I’ll run the half marathons this summer. But now I want to focus on running 5ks. I don’t need to run more than three miles at any given time. It’s long enough. Once I get the 5k down, I’ll focus on running them faster, more frequently and in different places. After that, I’ll work on longer distances.

I don’t look at these changes as a cop out. I think it’s a step in the right direction. My goals and expectations are much more realistic and manageable. Now instead of being overwhelmed, I can take it one day at a time without giving up anything that I like.

I start now.