It has been 30 years since I first started running... AMAZING!!! Quite the journey it has been. My faithful companion, my therapy, my God time, my sanity and most of all one of the best things I have ever consistently done for myself!!
I can remember the very first time I went out and ran and how I was instantly "in love" with it and the feeling of running. It was so freeing and exciting and then after going just a very short distance I was enticed to learn I could go further - wow?! You mean there is more than this and I can work up to running.. maybe to town?? (that was 2 miles away) LOL! But it seemed huge at that age.. I was 12.
By the time Junior High came I wanted nothing more than to run track and when I was going to be a Freshman the coach talked to me about Cross Country and I was IN!!!! I ran almost everyday that Summer!! Loving it so much. It built my confidence and gave me something to look forward to! There is something about being out by yourself running and talking to yourself in your head. I have had many many conversations with me out there...can I go further? Will my heart beat out of my chest? Will it quit hurting? But most of all a lot of "you can do it" conversations and each time I did, I grew. I realized that I was capable of so much more than I thought I was and that I could endure more pain than I thought I could handle and each small victory would set me up for the next time I had a "bad run" and if your a runner, you know what that is. No matter how much you run or how in shape you are, every now and then it's a bad one. Your feet don't want to move the way they should, your off and it seems like no matter what you do you can't seem to get back on. But then it only drives you to get back out there and run again in search of that "perfect run"! Those are the ones that come easy, everything just flows and you feel like you could literally run forever. It just feels right and it just feels so good!
There truly is nothing like a runner's "high"! That awesome, amazing feeling you get when you finish and all the blood and endorphins are shooting through your body....it can't be manufactured. Only experienced!!!
I have loved all the races in High School and beyond and all the training runs, sprints, fartlets (intervals) and easy jogs! My feet have carried me thousands of miles. It's astonishing when I think about it. I can remember as a kid when we would drive somewhere and I'd see a sign for how many miles to the next town, I'd always think about what it would be like to run that far.
I have run through injuries, slipped knee caps, runner's knee, calf pain and plantar fasciitis. And even the recovery of a severely broken leg. That one took me a year and a half to come back from and early on we just didn't know if I'd still be able to run. I couldn't even fathom that, so I just kept visualizing running and staying positive, believing I would run again!! I worked so hard in physical therapy and then hired a trainer to rebuild the leg. Those first few times running where UGLY!! I didn't know if I'd ever get my stride back, but I did. Now, if you didn't know I had gone through that you would never be able to tell. That year after coming back I trained for a Marathon, just to prove to myself that I could go farther than I ever had. My last training run was 18.4 miles before plantar fasciitis took me out of the game for a little while. It was the farthest I had ever run! :) I had reached my goal!
I have had a running partner for the last almost 15 years in my Golden/Lab mix Jake! He loves to run even more than me. He can still go 5 miles on a good day, but is slowing down now. I miss the old days of him being 25 yards ahead of me :) We also have Keela and she has become a runner too. Although she thought I was trying to kill her the first few small runs I took her on, but by late that Summer they were Marathon training with me! I guess if you hang out with me enough, you become a runner. My brother and my husband have and I'm so proud of both of them. Also my niece Allie is a runner now too and runs Cross Country in HS!
There is just something about my feet hitting the trail, the sound of the ground under my feet and the cadence of my breath as I run. It truly is therapeutic for me. I have never run with music, probably because 30 yrs ago there was no good form of which to run with it! (now I'm dating myself) But I enjoy the rawness of it, just me and nature and the sounds of the trail. I wouldn't want it any other way. This year I am shooting for a Half Marathon of 13.1 miles and I will again someday train for a Marathon, even if I just run one on my own because I know I can! Each Season I say it's my favorite Season to run, but in all honesty... I just love to run!
Happy 30th Anniversary my running body!!! You have kept my weight in check, you have formed some really nice legs and have helped me avoid cellulite, for which I am eternally grateful! You have carried me thousands of miles and along the way I have learned to love you more! I am so grateful that on that first day I decided to run! :)
I can remember the very first time I went out and ran and how I was instantly "in love" with it and the feeling of running. It was so freeing and exciting and then after going just a very short distance I was enticed to learn I could go further - wow?! You mean there is more than this and I can work up to running.. maybe to town?? (that was 2 miles away) LOL! But it seemed huge at that age.. I was 12.
By the time Junior High came I wanted nothing more than to run track and when I was going to be a Freshman the coach talked to me about Cross Country and I was IN!!!! I ran almost everyday that Summer!! Loving it so much. It built my confidence and gave me something to look forward to! There is something about being out by yourself running and talking to yourself in your head. I have had many many conversations with me out there...can I go further? Will my heart beat out of my chest? Will it quit hurting? But most of all a lot of "you can do it" conversations and each time I did, I grew. I realized that I was capable of so much more than I thought I was and that I could endure more pain than I thought I could handle and each small victory would set me up for the next time I had a "bad run" and if your a runner, you know what that is. No matter how much you run or how in shape you are, every now and then it's a bad one. Your feet don't want to move the way they should, your off and it seems like no matter what you do you can't seem to get back on. But then it only drives you to get back out there and run again in search of that "perfect run"! Those are the ones that come easy, everything just flows and you feel like you could literally run forever. It just feels right and it just feels so good!
There truly is nothing like a runner's "high"! That awesome, amazing feeling you get when you finish and all the blood and endorphins are shooting through your body....it can't be manufactured. Only experienced!!!
I have loved all the races in High School and beyond and all the training runs, sprints, fartlets (intervals) and easy jogs! My feet have carried me thousands of miles. It's astonishing when I think about it. I can remember as a kid when we would drive somewhere and I'd see a sign for how many miles to the next town, I'd always think about what it would be like to run that far.
I have run through injuries, slipped knee caps, runner's knee, calf pain and plantar fasciitis. And even the recovery of a severely broken leg. That one took me a year and a half to come back from and early on we just didn't know if I'd still be able to run. I couldn't even fathom that, so I just kept visualizing running and staying positive, believing I would run again!! I worked so hard in physical therapy and then hired a trainer to rebuild the leg. Those first few times running where UGLY!! I didn't know if I'd ever get my stride back, but I did. Now, if you didn't know I had gone through that you would never be able to tell. That year after coming back I trained for a Marathon, just to prove to myself that I could go farther than I ever had. My last training run was 18.4 miles before plantar fasciitis took me out of the game for a little while. It was the farthest I had ever run! :) I had reached my goal!
I have had a running partner for the last almost 15 years in my Golden/Lab mix Jake! He loves to run even more than me. He can still go 5 miles on a good day, but is slowing down now. I miss the old days of him being 25 yards ahead of me :) We also have Keela and she has become a runner too. Although she thought I was trying to kill her the first few small runs I took her on, but by late that Summer they were Marathon training with me! I guess if you hang out with me enough, you become a runner. My brother and my husband have and I'm so proud of both of them. Also my niece Allie is a runner now too and runs Cross Country in HS!
There is just something about my feet hitting the trail, the sound of the ground under my feet and the cadence of my breath as I run. It truly is therapeutic for me. I have never run with music, probably because 30 yrs ago there was no good form of which to run with it! (now I'm dating myself) But I enjoy the rawness of it, just me and nature and the sounds of the trail. I wouldn't want it any other way. This year I am shooting for a Half Marathon of 13.1 miles and I will again someday train for a Marathon, even if I just run one on my own because I know I can! Each Season I say it's my favorite Season to run, but in all honesty... I just love to run!
Happy 30th Anniversary my running body!!! You have kept my weight in check, you have formed some really nice legs and have helped me avoid cellulite, for which I am eternally grateful! You have carried me thousands of miles and along the way I have learned to love you more! I am so grateful that on that first day I decided to run! :)
2 comments:
I feel this exact same way. It is something keeps me sane(r), and happy. Some days it is a throwaway run and some days it is a great run, but all in all, I just keep moving.
Congrats on 30 years!!!
Aunt Kimberly I love your blog! I hope i run as long as you!
Allison
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