Running has never been something I’ve enjoyed. In fact, it’s probably fair to say that I loathe it. I mean, I really, really hate it.

In fact, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why I’ve never been able to get into running. Because in theory, there’s a lot of things about it that would seem appealing to me. It’s:

• Productive “me” time where I can sort out my thoughts.
• An effective stress reliever.
• A good excuse to listen to loud music.

In the end, I’ve come to the conclusion that throughout my years of sports practice (and years of running any time we got in trouble, didn’t do something right or lost in a competitive drill), I was always punished by having to run. And after all that running, at some point, I just started to associate running with being punished.

Well, the reality is, I’ve not been in a practice situation like that in more than a decade. So it’s time to get over it and finally embrace running. So 2012 is the year I run.

I’ve already signed up for a few 5k races this summer and am scouting a few others. And I’ve started training and tracking my progress with RunKeeper. I’m hoping the visualization and race commitments will help keep me motivated.

Wish me luck.