Why Am I Running?

Last night I asked myself this question: Why am I running? I totally stink at it. It hurts. I feel like a dork doing it in front of other people who are better than me. I'm not in a position to race, let alone run an entire mile. So why the heck am I doing this?

Here are my reasons so far:

1. To do something new.
2. To do something that doesn't involve sitting on the couch, eating, or drinking.
3. To have goals to work toward.
4. To reduce my stress level.
5. To become stronger.
6. To become faster for when and if I need it in "real" life.
7. To get out and see the world on my feet.
8. To get some awesome tshirts from races (I'm not gonna lie -- I like this part).
9. To lose weight.
10. To have something to talk about.
11. To live longer.
12. To prevent and/or reduce health problems.
13. To have a reason to work out and go to the gym.
14. To prove to myself that this is not impossible.
15. ***This is the biggest one: To feel proud of something.

When I have completed a run, even if I didn't make it the entire way or length of time, I have consistently done as well or better than the time before. I am not moving at the pace that the program has set, but rather a little slower. This does not matter to me because the feeling I have when I've finished that day, and have done even slightly better than before, is unlike any other feeling. I feel happy, alive, proud, tired, accomplished, and changed. So that's why I'm doing this.