"I just kept runnin. . ."

I love to run. I am NOT a natural born athlete, it is something that has come about over time. To give you a little background in high school freshman year I joined the track team. I wanted to be a sprinter. I was in a tryout with my good friend. She had a charlie horse and stopped mid sprint and I stopped with her. That was it. The coach wouldn't let either of us rerun. Instead this coach put me on the 800. The 800 is the worst race EVER. It isn't a sprint, but it is. It isn't long distance, but it is. I came in dead last EVERY single meet. I vowed never to join track again. Through out the next few years following I would jog/walk outside . . . sometimes. Then my junior year of college during Christmas break I saw a picture of myself. That did it. I started running. It was slow, oh so slow at first. Then day after day it seemed to get a little better. That was eleven years ago. Now I can run a 1/2 marathon without thinking about it in roughly 1 hour 50 minutes. Running clears my head, releases happy endorphins, and gives me energy, helps me be a good mom to my kiddos.

Some have told me it will kill my knees. This may someday be true, but every mile is worth it. I have had to modify a bit and run mostly indoors with our family schedule. In five years that I had my treadmill I have put 8400 miles on it. That was six months ago. I felt shocked that at one point I came in dead last and now I have run, a lot, and not all that slow. But I still feel sometimes like the picture. I just don't care how I look, it is how I FEEL that counts!