Regardless of my non-athleticness, I have always been fascinated by runners. I have never been good at running. In high school I was too scared to run in front of my peers. I made my mom write a note to my gym teacher to excuse me from running the mandatory mile. In college, well, I smoked, and I barely woke up before noon. Most of the time I was too hungover to even walk to the gym, let alone run. Needless to say, it was really a surprise to friends and family when I started running around age 24.
Charlottesville is a running town. People around here spend their weekends outdoors... running, biking, fishing- you get the idea. They even have a great annual race to support breast cancer, The Charlottesville Women's 4 miler. You see, my work, Panera Bread, sponsors the race, and donates over 4000 bagels to the runners! I, being the marketing gal, felt it was not only important to be present at the race, but take it a step further an run in it. So I began to train. Little distances at first- run .25 miles, walk .25, run, walk... you get the idea. I will never forget the first time I ran a mile straight... I was on a trail and I crossed the chalked "1 Mile" marker and I instantly began to cheer and applaud myself...fellow runners looked at me, and were like, "Wow- how far did you run??" You should have seen their faces when I responded "1 MILE!!" Yes, not impressive to many, but to me- it was like I had completed a marathon.
Well I finished my first race, the 4 miler. I even signed up for the next few years... and well I am running it for my 4th time this September. Ever since I had the twins, running has become more to me than just a way to stay in shape... It has become my therapy, my meditation, my goal, my alone time, my release, my way to turn my brain off and just be. When I first started running, my favorite part was when I was finished, in my car driving home, now I just love running... so much that I have decided to compete in my first half marathon in November.
What the hell does half marathon training have to do with things I've learned- well, that is the thing... A LOT. I learn so much when I am on a trail. I learn about myself, my physical and mental limits, my tendencies. I think about ways to improve, and ways to push myself. And you know what? all of these lessons can be applied to my life...
I have begun the rigorous half marathon training. Equipped with a GPS watch (courtesy of the supporting husband), and a strap on water bottle, I took to the trail this past weekend with two fellow running fiends. I ran 7 miles, they ran 8 . I ran about a 10 minute pace, they ran 8 minute pace. I wanted to take a stretch break one mile in, they wanted to keep going... the most important part was we started and finished together. During one of the first few miles, as we were heading uphill, I decided to let the other two runners go ahead because I could not keep their pace. J (his nickname for the sake of this blog), said, "Why make such a rash decision on the uphill climb? Why not wait until the downhill after you recover, then decide?"
Uh... interesting way to put it, J... why do I tend to make rash decisions on an uphill climb? You know the same could be said for life- metaphorically... Why do I tend to make rash decisions on uphill climbs. For example- we have started to explore with potty training. We are not actually potty training yet, just talking about it... A LOT. Well the other day lil monkey, A, sat on the potty for 20 minutes, then got up and peed all over the floor, and cried when he realized he had made a mistake. It was then that I decided, we are not ready for potty training. Rash decision, things were tough, uphill climb. Instead of deciding that they weren't ready in that moment, I should have waited until the recovery (after things were cleaned up, and calmed down) to decide. Note to self- wait until the recovery to decide. Where there is an uphill, there is usually a downhill lurking right around the corner... wait until things are evened out before making any decisions. Well despite my decision to stop potty training, my kids can't wear diapers for the rest of their lives, so we will start again. This time, I will remember to stick with it... where there is an uphill- there will be a downhill.
From one soul to another:)
