Am I a runner now?

I'm a runner right now in the sense that I'm running regularly. But am I a runner? I'm not sure. I ordered John Bingham's book, the Courage to Start, about the "penguin chronicles." That sounded like me, until I read the intro of the actual book, and Bingham talks about always feeling the joy of running, from when he was a young kid.

That's not me. I was never a runner. I was slow, and never had good form. Then for years I had problems with my feet. Though I dabbled in running throughout my adult life (i.e. taking it up & dropping again once every five years), it was always something I did to try to get in shape, lose weight, etc.

That's my motivation now, too. I'd wanted to run the 5k in my own town before I turned 40. Then that shifted into running it when I was 40. Which I did! That was in 2006, and despite the pride of the accomplishment, I stopped running after that. This year I turned 42, and have been growing increasingly concerned about my health. In particular, my cholesterol was hovering in the border zone, and I knew I was overweight. Particularly as the sole wage-earner, I want to take responsibility for my own well-being for my own sake and that of my family.

So with a gulp I decided on my birthday to run the half-marathon this year. And I started running. Does that make me a runner?

It definitely helps to have a defined training plan. I didn't have that when I did the 5k, but now I've got one. I don't think that makes me a runner by itself, but it gives me focus and measured progress that I didn't have before. It also pushed me to sign up for two more 5k's and a 10k on the way to the half-marathon.

I still don't feel a joy to get out there and run, but I do feel a drive to keep progressing along my training plan. I can even feel a little restless after a couple days of not running, anxious to attempt the next increment. It's also been fun to look forward to new runs in new cities, like when I'm on some sort of trip.

Yesterday I picked up Runner's World magazine, and today I discovered running podcasts. In all of my hobbies, I've enjoyed studying up on it. It happens all the time with games, it happened with model rockets, with travel... It's a good sign that I want to "study" running. Maybe if this keeps up I will really be a runner!