Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Stretching My Legs



One day, I just strapped on some shoes and started running and I haven’t looked back since. Ok… Maybe I haven’t looked back because there is just no one behind me, but there will be. I’ve been running now for about a year. Last year I got my motto’s crossed, and instead of, ‘just say no’ my brain said, ‘just do it’. A few of my friends, and about half of the people in Chicago it seems, run. A cautionary (mostly for your budget) tale:

“When are you going to run a race with us?”

“I don’t run unless I’m being chased.”

(Cliché, I know. Don’t judge. At that point I had never even been ‘runner’s high’, couldn’t even get a buzz, but that all changed…)

“C’mon, we are already registered. You can do this, it’s just a 5K and it’s a small neighborhood race. You’ll be fiiiiiine. It’ll be fun!”

“I have never run in my life. You actually have to PAY to do this?”

“You get to run through Wriiiiiiiiiigly. Maybe even touch the field when no one is looking.”

I registered that day and ran over ten races and ran through two stadiums (probably closer to 15 races actually. I didn’t have a way of keeping track of which races I had signed up for yet, but that is another post). I was hooked. Injuries occurred, new tips and tricks were discovered, and I survived to run another Race Season in Chicago. Winter has always been a challenge for me, but in the past few weeks I have been getting my running legs back for another race season. This year, hopefully I can do less races and more distance, with enough training. This year I will focus on what is important, running and writing (probably mostly about running), while leaving my friends to wonder if I still exist, unless they run alongside me, but more likely still in front of me for quite some time yet. Time to break out training plans for a half marathon!

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