I would love to have a deep and inspiring blog where I am able to feely express the most profound thoughts that travel through my mind. I think, I ponder, I write, I rewrite, I think some more. I have ideas and thoughts floating all around in my head, they float and float, and float, and float, until finally they seem to float away. I think my muse gets impatient with me and gives up on me, then has the audacity to give my thoughts to someone else’s muse. I am convinced that this is true because I see my thoughts written all over the place.
Life is so unfair.
In the meantime, as my mean muse roles her eyes, I will make an attempt to engage in some small talk with you. I’m not very good at small talk. But stick around and perhaps every once in a while the conversation will get deeper. Perhaps I’ll cry, maybe you will too. I’m hoping my muse will have compassion, really.
* * * *
I began to take up running about 11 years ago when my boys were still young enough to sit in a double stroller. It was quite by accident. I was still hanging on to some pregnancy fat so I decided to strap them up and start walking. It was then that I realized how much I really hate walking. Since our neighborhood was nice and hilly, every time we reached a downhill I would run instead of walk. So that is how it all began. I proceeded to also run the “flat” parts, and push as fast as I could on the up hills. Pretty soon I began waiting for my husband to come home so I could ditch the children and run for longer periods of time. Wishing that I had known sooner that ordinary people like me could participate in races, I signed up for my first 5K in October of 2007. I continued to run faithfully for the next year and ran another 5K, an 8K, a 10K, and then culminated my running career in the Memphis St. Jude ½ Marathon in December 2008.
The next 3 years of my life is no small talk matter. Suffice it to say that my running stint was all but over although I kept trying to hold on to it by a thread by attempting to get my but back in gear to no avail.
Fast forward 40 lbs. gained, a move to Texas – a nice flat state with sidewalks-, 25 lbs. lost, and 9 months of being back in the game. I had to start from scratch. Jog one minute, walk one minute. Oh the agony! Now I can easily run 4 miles, and have successfully made it to 10 while training for Half that I didn’t get to run compliments of three separate weeks of illness that made me throw in the towel.
Last week, after 4 ½ years of silence, I participated in my first "back in the game" race. I eased into the running scene with an 8K that I successfully ran within my goal time.
Yay me!
And just to add icing to the cake, a few weeks ago, my 14 year old, Isaac, asked me to buy him some running shoes.
Yesterday, I waited for him to get home from school to go for a run. It began to rain. I was so determined to run with him that we waited for it to pass and finally made it out the door at about 5:20. it was cold, drizzly and windy.
Three and a half miles later…
Totally worth the wait and the cold!
Isn't he beautiful?
A note to my muse:
I’m sorry if I offended you. We have a lot of work to do here. I’ve opened up the running can of worms. You and I know how my running and my life exist as a deep reflection of each other. Come on, be patient and help me out here.
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