Global Running Day!
Happy Wednesday! You are halfway through the week. You can do it! Also, if you didn’t know, today is Global Running Day! That means, take some time today to get outside and get some miles in. In honor of today, I wanted to share a little bit about what running means to me!
My story starts in college. I was in the Corps of Cadets in A&M University. Basically, it’s an ROTC program and we live the military lifestyle while going to college. My original plan was to enlist in the military and graduate as an officer but I switched up my plan when I met my husband. While the Corps of Cadets kept me physically active, I did the bare minimum. Y’all, I HATED running. We used to run in a block and since most of the people ran way faster than I was used to, I would make every excuse to not run. You name it, I’ve said it. Once I aged out of the program, I was so happy. After college, I basically stopped running.
Fast forward a few months when I realized that I was the heaviest that I had ever been. When you’re 5 feet tall, extra weight isn’t your friend. I didn’t want to admit it but I was technically obese. Now, I’m not saying BMI is 100% accurate but it was way too much weight for me. My husband and I started going on walks and I secretly hated him for it. I did not want to work out and I hated sweating so much. I was not happy with my body and did everything I could to avoid these walks. However, we were newlyweds and I really, really wanted to make him happy so I did it. Then one day, I got the idea to jog a little bit during these walks. It became almost like a game. Can you run for 5 minutes? Can you run for 10? And so on. We decided we would do a fun 5k together. We started with the idea to stay together but he waved me off when he saw that I was jogging for a while and didn’t have to stop. I took walk breaks but I actually finished with a good time. I felt so dang accomplished and that’s when the little voice started. “Can I do it again? Can I do the half marathon next year?” Little by little, I began to run for longer distances and try different things. I was probably doing a million things wrong but it was exciting to be able to push myself and do things that I used to not be good at.
Little by little, running began to be fun. I expanded to different forms of exercise and I also started to take care of myself better. Running became something that I grew to love deeply. Some days, Jordan and I would go on runs (he bikes alongside me) and I would just look over and smile because I was SO HAPPY! Once I stopped trying to fit into other people’s notion of what a runner is, I began to be truly happy with my progress. Running has been my constant throughout the ups and downs of my life. Especially with this weird season that I’m in now, I know that running will always be there for me. Even if I do take a break, I can always pick it right back up and feel the joy I felt after that first race.
If you haven’t given running a try or if you haven’t done it in a while, I’d encourage you to get outside today and just give it a try. See how it feels and if it’s something you want to keep doing!
How are you celebrating Global Running Day?
