A runner is anyone who says she's a runner!

I know that when I say I'm a runner - people look at my giant ta-tas and my big ole italian hips and think "sure you are". Am I built for a 5 minute mile? No. But I DO know if I decided that I really, really wanted to run a 5 minute mile - I could do it. For me, running's not about winning. I feel like I win every time I start and finish a run. I feel like a winner when I get up in the morning, tired and uninspired, and run anyway, because Hal Higdon's training program says I have to. I think there are always going to be people who tell others that they shouldn't/couldn't do something (remember the former president of harvard who said women don't have the brain capacity for math and science? He's right in my case... but that's not the point!!) I feel so much better since taking up running in September and me and my big hips are going to keep running our 10 minute miles and be proud of it!!

Someone was talking about needing a training program - I will tell you - I'm obsessed with Hal (link to the right). I was torned as to what training program to select initially, but I started with the beginner 10k. It was really manageable - not a ton of running, so you don't risk injury and a lot of strength and cross training. I think you average about 12 miles running a week on the 10k program. I just switched four weeks ago to the 15k training program and I am doing intermediate because it focuses on speed in addition to endurance. It's challenging. You run five times a week - totaling about 25 -35 miles. This is in preparation for my first ever 15k middle of February. It's a lot of training and it's hard to find the time to do it, but like everything in life, the best things aren't easy.