Thoughts I Had About Running While I Was Running

I started running when I was 16 years old because I joined my high school cross country team. Don't ask me why I joined because I honestly can't remember. Had I ran before that? Nope! But I ran 3 miles every day for the entire summer that year. 

Fast forward to the summer in between my freshman and sophomore year of college and I had decided to stay in Logan. I didn't have a lot of friends, so I decided to run 3 miles every day that summer. 

Let's jump to the summer after I graduated college, I decided I was going to run a half marathon. (Summers seem to be a theme here...) And I did! In fact, I have two half marathons under my belt now. 

It's easy to read that and think that running comes easily to me. It doesn't. I have to work really, really hard at it. Running has included a lot of my lowest lows and highest highs. 

The other day as I was running I started thinking about why I run and why I like it so much. I'm not a natural runner - although I do have long legs which probably gives me an edge. Running makes me feel powerful. Power often has a negative connotation, but that's not my point here. It makes me feel powerful because it shows me I have a great deal of determination. 

Running pushes me to be better because the only person I'm competing with is myself. Running shows me the woman who doesn't give up or take the easy way out. 

One day when I was training for my half marathon I was on a 5 mile run and my shoe caught the edge of a sidewalk and I went down HARD. My knees and arms were scrapped and bleeding, but I didn't really think anything of it. I just kept going.

Running is a time when my heart and my body connect completely. All parts of me get on the same page and seem to say "Okay let's do this!" I think that's why I truly love running. Running makes me feel most like myself. My messy, challenging, happy, wonderful, emotional, determined self.