Running on....

 When I started running I had lost a lot of weight the year or so before. I had been taking Kickboxing and other classes at the Y and that summer I had just taken up bike commuting. I started running here and there by myself and was looking for people to run with. This instructor at the Y mentioned the Running Company and said “I think they have a group there.”

                 I was very nervous the first meeting and even the next few meetings. I did not know anyone and was socially awkward with people at first. But the BARA people were so nice to me and so easy to get along with that it wasn’t so long I felt I had a group of friends. I had not been part of a group of friends since adolescence really so this was a wonderful feeling to me. Then I decided to sign up for my first 5K last September. It was fun and I finished in 26.36 minutes which I felt good about.

                Well now I had caught the bug and wanted to run more races. In October I ran the Smith’s Sport and Shoe 3 mile footrace and got 1^st in my age group there! Then I ran the YMCA 10K and got second in my age group in that race. I was running with a guy from my group and I told him I was going to run the IU Mini half marathon and that I was anxious about it. He said “You just need to go ahead and run one and then you won’t feel anxious.” 

 I did not think any more about it and then found out he signed me up for my first half marathon without checking with me. Not only was it a half marathon but it was a trail run at NIGHT at the end of January. I took the challenge and ran it and it was what could only be described as a magical experience. The night air was cold and crisp. The forest was a fine place to be and as I ran I thought about all the things that had led up to this point in my life and was in wonder of it all. I looked across the lake while I was running and there were lines of lights weaving through the woods: Runners with our headlamps shining in the dark.

                So then I was off and running (pardon the pun) and so started signing up for more races. I ran the IU Mini half marathon and was able to do it in 1:57 which was awesome! I started running more trail races especially the DINO series which is a series of races by Do Indiana Off Road so it is all trails. I have run three DINO races and just love them. I took first in my age group in one of them and second in my age group in another one. Even when I don’t “kill it” in my time I am happy running in the woods even more than anywhere else. The woods calm me—keep my anxious competitiveness in check. I can distract from any pain in my body by absorbing all the green around me and breathing in all the fresh air free of car exhaust; the smell of hot asphalt and all the noises of town runs. It is just me and nature running side by side. I am grateful I can run now.

      It wasn’t long ago I couldn’t run, or bike, or walk very far. I have come a long way and there is still so much ahead of me.  I am giddy like a 20 year old just walking out of the house for the first time to go home to their very own apartment with their own furniture and food in their very own fridge. I am excited like a little kid on their birthday. Just to be able to enjoy life this way is such a great gift! I am no longer the sad, chubby girl I was. I am buoyant with energy and I glide along life now like water skiing. Everything is easier for me then it used to be. The wonder of a capable body is a never-ending one.

                    So now I have signed up for my first TWO trail marathons. I am scared but determined as I always am.  The first one is in August…not very far away. It will be 26.2 miles through the woods and it will most likely be hot and uncomfortable and unforgettable. I can’t wait to suffer through it and come out the other side a better person than I went in. The second is a legendary one with the runners here in town. It is called Tecumseh and is on December 1^st. It will be a good race to end this amazing year on.

I am filled with hope now. I am filled with joy now. I love my life. I want to live this life on and on and on. It is the best thing that has ever happened to me. My friends who run with me; my friends who care for me; my family who love me; old friends and new friends and I am filled with love for every single one of them.