Global Running Day

When I was a kid passenger riding around town, I remember seeing runners and thinking, W H Y???
Do these people like feeling out of breath? It's good exercise, but...why?

Why would anyone subject themselves to painful repetition? Were they trying to lose weight? But some of them already looked in fantastic shape! Could it possibly be fun for them? Why was it fun? Why run?

So many questions.

It's not that I was an inactive kid by any means. I loved sports, particularly swimming and tennis, so when high school PE came about, I was thrilled when we did those activities - except for the coaches words:

"Warm up on the track."

Or, "Run a mile on the track - you'll be timed."

The pebbly, crumbly graham-cracker colored texture on the track was a sight and sound I dreaded.

A few months into freshman PE, I began to have knee issues, and after repeated visits to the doc, I was put into physical therapy.  The most exciting part for me was getting the doc's note that I could not participate in PE. So I sat on the sidelines eating vending-machine bought twinkies three times a week while my classmates did their loops around the track.

I was told that running was bad for my knees. And I believed it. Whenever someone asked if I ran, or why I didn't - I'd just say those words. And then later realized, guess running isn't for me. But in retrospect, that excuse was a great teacher -- we are only limited by what we believe in. Meanwhile, not really grasping what physical therapy meant - as I was one of the younger ones there - I saw it as a specialized gym where people demonstrated exercises and then praised you a lot when you did it correctly.

Why am I even here then? I wondered at one point, as I moved from the squat area to the balance board area.

As I sat on the seated leg press, the PT said, "Ok, good. Your quads are getting stronger."

Fast forward a few years, during my senior high school year, my family and I signed up for a local 5K - a first race for all of us. Three miles seemed like a lot, but all I thought was, I'm doing this for a good cause for charity. 

Being newbies, we lined up close to the start. Maybe it'll be over sooner if we're up front? was the logic.

After the horn blew, I got passed up by about 99% of the people -- and I went out way too fast, getting myself a side stitch by the end of mile 1.

And Mile 1 was downhill.

That was 2001.

I never really owned a proper pair of running shoes since then, or decided to attempt a real run again...until 2014.

I'd been keeping up with cardio dance classes, and lifting small weights for a couple years, and felt peppy enough one day to set foot on the track that loomed nearby. But instead of having classmates and race competitors nearby, it was just me, my shoes...and the loop.

I could go at any pace I wanted.

So I just did a slow jog. I'm sure a turtle could have passed me.

But I kept going. I didn't let myself get winded, but instead just enjoyed taking step by step.

Step by step.

And so today, on Global Running Day, I think back to my journey, and how now, I enjoy running. I just might be one of those runners you see outside, and if you wonder...WHY? I invite you to lace up and maybe find some inspiration out there!

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