A new relationship with running

If you were to compare my relationship with the sport of running to a relationship where I'm the girl and running is the boy, the story would go something like this:

1. Girl meets boy in a bar, when she wasn't really looking to meet that special someone
2. Girl falls madly in love with boy, then hates him, then loves him, then loves to hate him and then loves him again (even though she still kind of hates him)
3. Girl and boy hang out EVERY SINGLE DAY, listening to music and sweating profusely {{wink wink}}
4. Girl and boy take their relationship to the next level
5. Girl gets home from Vegas and stops returning the calls and texts from the boy
6. Boy keeps calling and texting, but girl refuses to budge
7. Girl feels guilty and calls the boy back after about 3 months
8. Repeat @2-6
9. Girl then half heartedly dates boy off and on for months
10. Girl feels guilty for her bad behavior
11. Girl gives boy another chance, but on the condition that they "take things slowly"

So here I am, starting at #11, trying to find my new relationship with running. Previously, as you can see by my crazy example, I was in somewhat of an abusive relationship with the sport, binging on half-marathon training and then quitting cold turkey, starting again and then quitting....again.

The reason I like running is that it provides THE best cardio workout for me.  Running brings my heart rate up higher than the elliptical and the bike (except for spinning class).  Running is the workout that challenges my mind and my body.  Running makes me sweat, which tells me that my body is working.  As part of this new relationship, I need to learn to accept and embrace that challenge rather than running away from it (pun intended) and self sabotaging.

In order to shift my thinking and to invite running to become a more permanent fixture in my life, I've decided to train for the Emerald City 1/4 marathon.  I've chosen to do a 1/4 marathon instead of a 1/2 because I need the accountability of a schedule and a checklist of miles.  I know myself and know that I can't be trusted to just open my arms and welcome the sport back to my life.  I need to take the journey of "I think I can" on my way to "I know I can" by doing the shorter weekday runs to let the process happen naturally.  My short term goal is to complete the 1/4 marathon without walking, but my ultimate goal is to develop a long-term relationship with this sport, a healthy one, the kind that I don't have to start over every three months.