Reason to run.

So....like I said before, I am NOT competitive....but when I was large and in charge (aka - pregnant and hormonal) I would still drag my large and in charge self to the gym on base....And when J Lo's video "Get Right" was on MTV I would actually feel sexy and tough! The beat and dancing would actually make me think for a split second (literally) that I was as tough and hot as Jennifer Lopez in that video! Ha! .....I said split second, okay?! Annnnnnyyyywaaaaaaaayyyy....so I would do the elliptical for an hour and most every time I was there, there was this girl, petite, probably near the same age, black sweats and sweatshirt (old school Raiders to be precise). Well, this girl would run the treadmill for the entire hour I was on a silly little "pretend like you're running, but you're not, pansy elliptical." Don't worry I am not dissing the elliptical - it is a great machine! From that moment on, I decided that when I was done being large and in charge and was no longer two, but one - I would start running and an hour would be my goal. Now - while I have not run a complete hour yet (51 minutes and 5.3 miles are my longest and furthest), I still don't know about running the treadmill for that long. 20 minutes feels like 2 hours on that thing, and I would never be able to wear sweats the whole time, nor do I think that is very healthy. After that tangent, there is also another reason I run....I don't have to drive a whole stinking 10 miles to base. Yes, it's a small town - 10 miles is the other side of town. After having a child and learning that your child occupies a lot of your time (I can't even begin to imagine multiples at this point) it just wasn't worth the effort. I liked the idea of running because all I had to do was put on shoes and step outside! It was great...that was until I started getting bad cranky knees. I don't know what the medical term for this is - other than the fact that I was having some really bad joint pain to the point where I felt like I could literally not run another moment. The Flight Doc said it was some like "patellofemoral syndrome" aka runner's knee. Yeah right, like an uncompetitive, unathletic person could develop something that sounded so technical. Whatever...so he tells me to basically home remedy it before taking any more aggressive action (ie physical therapy). He suggests all these crazy things like: tylenol, icing, stretching.... :) You know .... warming up and stuff? Crazy thinking, I know. I thought to myself, "Wait a second, the whole reason I chose running was to save time, because it was quicker, I didn't have to drive to the gym, and all I had to do was go outside. Now I am supposed to ice my knee and stretch?!! What has this world come to that you have to warm up before you exercise?! Come on!" So, long story longer - I still have episodes, but just taking it a little easier and a steady pace have helped a lot.