To Feel a Runner's High Again

As the end of 2011 wound down, my brother asked the readers of his blog about running what their running goals for 2012 were.  My answer was simple. 

My goal is to once again experience a runner's high. After knee problems, two kids, two c-sections and no time for me as a stay-at-home mom, just getting back into running is my simple goal.

It is a simple goal, but it's been challenging to accomplish.  With weekends devoted to the kids and everything I failed to accomplish during the week, I have yet to find time (or motivation) to run over the weekend.  Since I developed a consistent routine of going to the gym over lunch during the work week, I tried replacing some gym workouts with jogs along the river.  It continues to be difficult to find time right before lunch and then hope it doesn't rain, I don't get too hungry to run or I'm not scheduled for a last-minute meeting. 

I still find it difficult to find the motivation to run when I feel the pressure of deadlines at work and the weather isn't great and my lunch sitting on my desk staring at me. I don't know what "getting back into running" is supposed to look like and I don't know when I can say I've reached my goal. After how many weeks or months of consistent running can I say again that I'm a runner?  Either way, I've started to notice that I'm craving my mid-day runs.  I actually have energy to burn.  I'm even starting to feel that runner's high again. I'm not totally there yet, but I'm getting there.