Running Sucks!





Running sucks. I hate running! Why did I decide to do this? Do I really care about decreasing my pace? Do I really want to run that many miles? Who do I think I am anyways?

This is the conversation my brain has with my body for the first mile of every single run. Eighteen months in and it is still the same conversation. On the second mile my brain ups the ante a little. You are tired. Your left pinky toe feels a little squished.  You should be doing (insert random to-do list items here). Mile three is more like- You look silly. You are running too slowly. You aren’t going to make your mile goal today so you should walk. By the third mile my brain realizes my body is still in motion and it does this wonderful, magic thing. It shuts up. I stop trying to talk myself out of running and start enjoying the things around me. The sights, the sounds, the smells become my focus. I start to admire a lot of the world that I miss as I make my way through the tasks of an ordinary day.  Things that I take for granted, or look over, regain their wonder and magic. And it does not matter where I am running. Everywhere has these wonderful amazing things I usually miss because my brain never shuts up long enough for me to pay attention to them. At this point I start talking to God- Thank you for that majestic Hawk. Thank for the light rain to cool me off. Thank you for ______.  I find such peace as I become full of gratitude.  And that happens every time I make it past that 3 mile mark, no matter what challenges I am facing in Life. That is why I am passionate about running. Yes, I like the ways it has changed my body. Yes, I adore the positive, health conscious people I have met. But I crave the way a Run allows me peace, offers me clarity, centers my thoughts, and soothes my soul.

Sounds silly? I thought so too before I became a runner.