This is my first attempt at a personal blog. I keep a blog for my university, and a funny one, but I felt the need to write one that was a little more free-spirited. Hopefully it will help me to keep my thoughts organized and maybe communicate with a few like-minded people.
My topic for today is running. I started running for the first time close to a month ago. This beginning was a huge deal for me. Physical activity has never been one of my strong points, and so the fact that I am still keeping up with this is something I am incredibly proud of. It has been such a fantastic way to exercise and I have learned a lot about myself in the process.
Running has taught me that my body loves to be challenged. When I truly push myself on a tough run in the morning, I feel fantastic the rest of the day. I am happy, excited, and my muscles are full of energy. Yes, they burn and yes, they get tight and sore, but overall my muscles love running. The person who has been helping to coach me for the 5k, Jerry, has been great. He understands that I'm a beginner, but he constantly encourages me to do my very best. Racing to the finish line with him today at the end of our 3 miles was exhilarating!
My confidence level has also shot up since I began running. It still blows my mind that I (me!) can run 3 miles, or run a 10-minute mile. It makes me feel like I have really accomplished something great. It's cliche, but with each step I take on a run, I feel like I am moving forward from who I used to be into someone brand-new, and each foot smashes down a mistake I've made, a negative though I've had, anything I'm not proud of.
I definitely plan on continuing my running and working hard to run further and faster each time. It isn't always easy- some runs just suck. I hurt, I'm tired, it's hot, and so on. But whenever I push through a tough run, the next run is typically fantastic. I'm not the fastest and I can't run the longest distance. I will probably never run the Boston Marathon, or a triathlon. But, I am a runner. And that makes me so proud.
