I have always loved running, from the time I was small. In junior high and
high school it was fun. But I never did more than track in high school for fun.
I am competitive, but also very stubborn so it was never MY thing because other
people wanted me to do it. I know. Hindsight is always 20/20.
I started running for myself the summer of 2012 and ran my first 10k. It was
fun, exhilarating, in fact. But life changed, the season changed, I got pregnant
with Taivan and running fell by the wayside.
Since we have moved to Georgia, I have felt the pull. I have needed more time
just for myself since I am homeschooling my kids. And the weather is so much more
conducive to running year-round outside here. But getting the motivation to start
something that requires more time and effort is difficult in an already busy
life. So it hasn’t been until after Martin Luther King Jr. Day that I felt the
true motivation to go running. What happened on that day? I was drying off after
a shower and I pulled or tweaked a muscle in my back and was in pain for days. I
felt old and completely out of shape. Waning even. I may be getting older, but I
did not and do not want my freedom to be taken away because of my laziness. It
also helped that my favorite food blogger Mel from Mel’s Kitchen Café has been
posting about her journey on the way to running her first half-marathon. It
seemed like there was a voice whispering “Run!” into my ear and it was kind of
hard to ignore. So as soon as I felt good enough, I hit the streets with my dog
Millie. And last night I signed up for my first half-marathon on the 4th of
July. I am a little nervous and training as best I can for something I have
never come close to doing before. The 4th of July seems like the perfect day to
celebrate my freedom to run.