Coming Back to Running

I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I used to be a runner. Starting the summer of my 10th grade year of high school, 2005, I joined cross country. My friends had convinced me that it would be fun, so I joined.

Old running bibs from some of my favorite races.

I'm not a very good runner: I'm not very fast, I don't have a ton of endurance, I have really bad knees, and I rarely get that "runner's high" that so many people seem to live for. Needless to say, cross country wasn't too fun, but I stayed with it for the rest of high school (I also did winter and spring track) because I liked the people and the team and that's what kept me so dedicated to it even though I HATED competing.

Rock N' Roll Half Marathon (September 2010)

I'm not a good runner, which wouldn't be a problem if not for the fact that I want so badly to be a good runner. Not last October but the October before (2012) I was training for the Philadelphia Marathon. Admittedly I wasn't doing a very good job of sticking to my training plan. I had started to dread running and I wasn't making time for it in my life anymore, which led to me missing a lot of key training runs. When I set out to do my 20 miler, I hurt my back 7 miles out. It was excruciating, heartbreaking, and freaking freezing as I had to walk 7 miles back to my house. Talk about a walk of shame.

That was when I broke up with running. I gave the whole "It's not you; it's me" speech and vowed to never seriously run again until it was fun again. This past summer I joined a volunteer group called The Monster Milers. It's a group that takes shelter dogs out for runs to get them outside, exercising, and learning new skills. It also helps them run off some of their nervous energy, which makes them better candidates to be adopted. I ran the Rescue Run 5K (which benefited The Monster Milers) with a friend, and that was the first time in a while that running was kinda fun again, but I still never felt the tug to go out and run.

Rescue Run 5k (Summer, 2013)

But finally, after 1 year and 4 months (16 months!) away from the sport, I'm ready to start running again. I'm starting to feel that tug inside me again, that little voice that says "go run."

Running has gotten me through bad breakups, job changes, and stressful days. There have been perfect runs where the scenery, the playlist, my legs, and my cardiovascular system all align to leave me feeling great and at peace with the world. I'm ready to start having more of those kinds of runs.

I'm ready to come back to running. I'm ready for the gels, the early mornings, the late nights, the grimy salty sweat, the ice baths, and the stretching (I cannot forget the stretching).  I feel good about it this time. I think running and I have given each other enough of a break that we just might make it work this time. We'll see.