hearts, stars, and horseshoes

Why do I run?

I get asked that a lot. Why do you run? Why do you put yourself through that? And to be honest, sometimes I don’t know. I ask myself this question a lot. 

To me running was just always something I did. It was an after school sport. I love to compete, but I was never the “best”. I won only 2 races in high school, and those were when I was sent to the JV meets for an easy race. The best I ever did in a cross country race was 7th. And I was damn proud of that. Sports in high school were just something to do for me. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved the feeling I got when I ran. The feeling of wind, rain, the pain in my body-it meant that I was alive. 

Now that I’m older and almost out of college, I’ve started to run again. I’ve ran intermittently throughout college, a 5k here and couple miles there, but never anything constant. Until April 15th. I know it may be a bit cliche to say that Boston affected me, but this was a race that I had gone through middle and high school hearing about, dreaming about, and having friends attend it. It’s every competitive runner’s dream to attend it. Sitting in class and reading article after article to find out what happened, scouring Facebook to see if I had friends there-I realized that running was in my blood. 

One week later I went to a Boston run put on my the people I’ve bought my running shoes from since I was 10. The camaraderie of everyone there was just amazing. I knew I had to get back running. 

When I got my new shoes, I was so giddy to go and try them out. I had planned to the next day, but as the evening came, I still hadn’t gone for a run. I looked at my clock and saw it was 7:30 and still gorgeous and light outside. That was my sign to get out there. I ran around the lake and when I finished, I felt like I had been flying. I got back to my car and sat there and started crying. I loved the feeling that was in my body. I wanted to be able to easily run several miles like I was able to back in high school. My ultimate running goal is to do the Nike Women’s Marathon (Tiffany necklace from a firefighter in a tux? Yes please!). I did a half in high school at the peak of my track season (terrible idea, never do that) and I felt so accomplished. I’ve done some random 5ks, but never anything that was competitive-they’ve all been untimed charity races. 

I went home and googled the Seattle Half-Marathon and saw that they also did a 10k race. I knew right then I had to sign up. I needed a goal if I was to continue running. As soon as a pressed complete, I sat there and stared at my computer in shock. I was excited and nervous at the same time. What if I do terrible? Then I realized that I didn’t care. 

Yesterday I ran around the lake again, this time with a watch. It was a 2.8 mile loop and I was expecting to finish somewhere around 30 minutes. When I looked at the end and saw 24, I thought maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought! I went to Runner’s World and used their time predictor calculator to see what my time would be for the 10k if I kept that. It would be a 54 minute 10k. So i set my goal. 

Right now I’m shooting for under 1 hour. My half marathon time was 1:54 (which is a 7:30 minute mile). If I could get the 10k under 50 min, I will probably start bawling at the finish line. Thankfully the boyfriend will be there to let me sob on <3

So why do I run? 

I run because it’s a part of my soul. 

I run because I’m alive. 

I run because I can. 

And that’s all I need to keep me going. 

(If you took the time to actually read all this, I’m really sorry haha. I’ve been a little stressed out and running has clarified many things and I felt like I had to get this out there. )

Running

I’m so happy I’m getting back into this. Never ever let me stop again. I feel so focused and alive.