June 16, 2011

Today I Ran

Today I ran. And it wasn't horrible. Anyone who knows me knows that this is big BIG BIG! Usually I run and complain quietly for the rest of the day, possibly for the rest of the week. But today? Today I ran and now I feel good, not complaining.
When I was in high school I had a good friend who was a runner. She did cross country, track, but mostly she just ran. She loved it. I remember her climbing out of bed on weekends and in the summer and slipping on her shoes and running while I'd still be cozy in bed. One morning she came home and I said, "I wish I was a runner." I don't remember her response at the time but I do remember the next morning. The next morning we were in bed at her house and she got up to run. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and got her shoes on. I laid in bed. She came back a few minutes later with a pair of running shoes and told me we were going running. Ummmmm....I don't think she realized that I was not a runner.
Source: rippedandfit.tumblr.com via Jerrie on Pinterest

We started off together. We ran along the country road she lived on. We ran and ran (as 17 year olds can do) and then I got tired. I told her to keep going and I'd walk back. So, that is what we did. She kept going and I walked through a raspberry field on my way back to her house. When she got home she simply said, "Ok so you ran. You're a runner today." She was pretty deep for 17, yes? That summer I continued to run with her off and on. I wasn't consistent which was pretty par for the course for me.

Needless to say I didn't continue running. Do I wish I had? Oh yes. Oh it would have been so much easier to start and continue at 17...BUT I didn't.

I didn't really think much about running in my 20s. I was a young mom. I kept myself busy with my guys, volunteer work and maintaining normalcy (my sense of normalcy at least) in life.

Around 30 I decided that I wanted to be a runner again (see, I knew I had already been a runner once so it was totally an "again" situation). I went into running this time with a new mindset - training schedule, distance, time, routes - I quickly lost interest. My attention span can be very short and when I feel like I have to do something I get rebellious with myself...Me and myself have an interesting relationship.

Somewhere between 17 and 30 I forgot what being a runner was all about...For me being a runner is about putting on my shoes and running. How long did I run? I don't know. How far? No clue. Will I run tomorrow? Tomorrow will tell. But today, today I am a runner.

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