Why I Run.

Happy Friday!

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

The twins had a dentist appointment at the office I used to work at {8 years} and I love going back to see everyone!

The twins did great, and had NO cavities!

I planned a lunch with one of my friends from the dental office. We decide to meet at a local restaurant, Plates and palates. It is my favorite and she has never been, so I was happy to take her!

I got my usual shrimp and spinach salad.

Spinach, sweet potatoes, pistachios and shrimp!! The dressing is perfection as well!

The twins got a kid snack plate. It has sliced turkey, cheese, apples and grapes! They love it! Even though Tan-man ended up sticking some of his turkey on the window and licking it off…{ew} boys…

Guess who also climbed out of his crib for the first time today…..

We almost made it 3 years… I was really shooting for 5.

It may be time for big kid beds!

He came down and said,

“Mom, I waked up!”

I had just put him down 5 minutes prior… I brought him back up the stairs in his crib and he went down after a little conversation and maybe a threat I would take his toy car away. He must have been tired, they both actually napped for 4 hours!

After naps we took a walk to the park! The weather was great and I couldn’t let the sun go to waste.

So we played until the sun went down. I could tell its been a few awhile since I have had a hard workout… I started making up workouts I could do at the playground..Box jumps on that yellow center thing, bench dips off the slide, pull ups on the rings… Its endless.

Anyway, since I’m taking a few weeks off of running, its all I think about right now so I figured I could vomit my running story for you all. Why I started running and what exactly makes me want to run.

My running story

I haven’t always LOVED running. In fact, when I was in high school on the drill team I use to cheat during the runs we did at practice. I whined, complained and even tried to negotiate my way out of running. Those were actually the days I actually had two brown sugar pop-tarts and sprite for breakfast. Awesome right?

After I graduated I continued to dance for my college and for the AFL, and still dreaded running. But dancers do a lot of running for endurance training so I did it but didn’t LOVE it. It always seemed like a chore or a punishment. YOUR LATE? Run a mile! YOU MESSED UP? Run a mile! YOU FORGOT YOUR DANCE SHOES? Run a mile! See?! Needless to say, RUNNING sucked butt.

I started going to the gym and going to Body Combat and fell in love with group training. I never missed a combat class. It became my go to cardio. I got certified in other programs and of course have been teaching ever since. It wasn’t until my mom died that I actually started really running.

When my mom died I couldn’t do anything to prevent it. It just happened and at that time in my life, I was lonely and kind of secluded myself for awhile. This is actually when I decided to run for me.  I started to run, thinking I could run away from the issues going on and just be by myself. The day after my moms funeral, I went for that run. I ran and ran and RAN. I’m not even sure how long that run was, but I remember the point I stopped to turn around and had sweat and tears streaming down my face. I don’t even necessarily remember even thinking about one thing that whole time. I was so far from home that I really didn’t think it was possible I was so far away.  I wiped my tears on the bottom of my tank top and made my way back home, I started thinking about my mom, mostly and how she never had the opportunity or the health to run or dance like me. Yet, she supported me through every performance/competition growing up. My mother had epilepsy and other health issues that nixed most physical activity from the last 15 ish years her life. I decided during that run I felt good, my head was clear, although my whole body hurt, I had never felt so good in my life. It was strange because as I made my way back home I could feel her with me {as strange as that sounds} but I could. I decided I would never take my health for granted and run not just for me but for her. I started running and fell in love with it. It took me over a year to get the guts to register for my first race.

It was the Moab half marathon and I loved it. I ran two other halves that year and just kept going. More halves, and then started marathons. Running is my therapy. Its when I think about nothing and everything at the same time. I’m not the fastest but I enjoy it, I actually CRAVE a good run. If I’m MAD. I RUN. If I’m SAD. I RUN. If I’m HAPPY. I’ll run even longer.Running is no longer a punishment or something I have to do. I run because running makes me HAPPY. {Also, tolerable…} Running is fun. AND its good for me.  I’m proud of my body and what it can do. I run not only for myself but those who cannot. There is one person who I know above me cheering me on during my races and that is nothing to complain about.

WHY do you run?

What was your first race?

If you haven’t done a race… why not?!