“Why dost thou run so many miles about?” -Shakespeare, Richard III
One of my coworkers tried to tell me that everything that is fun is in some form bad. While the version we enjoy might not be wrong, it is derived from something wrong. So I asked him, how is running bad. He responded by saying, “that’s what I don’t get about you.”
Not many people “get” why we run. I think you have to enjoy running to understand why someone sacrifices hours on end to just run. Most of us don’t have a chance to win a major race. We can’t make any money from running, so why do we do it?
I run for many reasons. I first got the running bug in my 5th grade field day. This year they had a new race, the quarter mile. I thought I had a chance to win this because I could play forever in my backyard without getting tired. I practiced the day before the race by riding my bike up and down the big hill on our street. Apparently there was something in the air because I had a horrible asthma attack that afternoon. I went back home to take my medicine so I could breathe again and rested up for the next day. I didn’t win the race, but I did get second. I have been a runner ever since that day.
I loved being able to run that far and have people be so impressed that that “tiny little girl” could go so far. I love the feeling I get when I finish a long run and I love the look on people’s faces when I tell them I ran a marathon. “How far is that?” they’ll (stupidly) ask, “26.2 miles.” Then they’re speechless. They can’t imagine going that far. One of my friend’s calls me “Wonder Woman” because I can run that far without stopping.
Let’s face it, non-runners are impressed if you can run one mile without stopping.
I love that my sport is everyone else’s sport’s punishment. And I love the time I have to myself while I run. I can listen to music, I can listen to a podcast, or I can just listen to my own thoughts. It’s great seeing the world from a different perspective. Runners see things the drivers that zip by us never see.
I just love to run.
Training:
M: 2 mi, 14:54
W: Speedwork, 1 mi warmup, 4x400 (89 s, 91 s, 91 s, 89 s), 1 mi cooldown
F: 2 mi, 19:04 (ran this with my husband)
S: 15 K, 1:22:54 (I had a 5 K route planned out and ran three laps. This was a lot of fun because we were visiting my in-laws this weekend and I got to run with my sister & brother-in-law for the first lap, just my sister-in-law for the second lap, then my hubbie for the third lap.)
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2 comments:
WHAT? I thought I was your inspiration for the whole running thing.
Haha... I can remember playing in your back yard and you'd say "Race you to the fence!" and take off.... I'd be like... Darn, I guess this means I have to run... so I'd break into a slumpy jog, knowing I'd never win... Haha! You have definitely ALWAYS loved to run... I only run towards the refrigerator and if a dog is chasing me... even though they say that's the worst thing you can do!
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