When I make up my mind to do something. I do it all out.
Over the weekend I ran the Joe Kleinerman 10K in Central Park. The first race of the 9 +1 (9 New York Road Runner-sponsored road races and 1 volunteering credit) needed to gain automatic entry into the NYC Marathon.
I’ve done this before so it’s not new, but I never thought I’d be doing it again.
After I crossed the NYC Marathon finish line in 2008, I had already decided it would be my last time. Not because it wasn’t fun or thrilling. It was that and so much more.
But I’d trained alone and given up a huge chunk of my social life. I had no interest in doing it again.
When David told me he wanted to run the NYC Marathon and I explained how to get guaranteed entry, his eyes lit up and he gave me *that* “you’re going to do it with me, aren’t you?” look.
How could I refuse?
So that’s the plan (at least for now). Ironically, David was too sick to run the 10K on Saturday so I trekked to Central Park alone to represent. May I add that the haul from downtown Manhattan to the Upper East Side is tough on a Saturday morning in 20 degree weather? No wonder I don’t do it more often!
While I ran, I had plenty of time to think. I thought about running, mostly. About the Shape.com article I had read the day before featuring fit women who don’t run. I wondered where I’d be, who I’d be were I not a runner.
I don’t know, but this is what I do know:
- This has always been my running mantra: “The longer I run, the smaller the problems become” I saw it in Runner’s World Magazine eight years ago, tore it out and hung it up. It’s still hanging.
- Running has made me physically and mentally strong, it has carried me through some of the most difficult times in my life.
- I started running in college. It was random. I didn’t think about it too much, no couch to 5K or online research. Nobody even blogged about it then. There were no blogs. It just felt like something I should do, so I did. Thank God.
- I love running alone. Me, the road, my music and my thoughts.
- Running is where I find my inspiration for almost everything I do. It’s also where I work out most of my problems.
- I used to fear the bad runs, now I know they also make me stronger. This is a recent revelation.
- I’ve never run to race. I only run to run.
- I hope I’m still running when I’m 85.
When I took a running hiatus earlier last year I cried a lot because I didn’t know if I would find my way back. As I ran on Saturday, I reflected back on that hiatus and everything I’ve just listed above.
I wondered why I ever doubted my return.
If you’re a runner, what’s 1 thing you love about running? What one thing has running done for you? Comment below.
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I could not agree more with your view and thank you for the inspiring mantra:o) I think running is such a great sport that will forever build confidence..whether it’s running continuously for 1 minute or for 26.2 miles..you always finish feeling better than you did when you started! What’s better than that!
Thank you,Courtney and you’re welcome!
Great post, Marissa. I have a love-hate relationship with running. I got into it about a year and a half ago when co-workers urged me to sign up for the Rock ‘n’ Roll 10K in Prospect Park. I HATED running before because I associated it with tedious bootcamp-y workouts of timed 3 miles for lacrosse in high school that I never really enjoyed. But once I started to run for myself, I got into such a groove. After the 10K I signed up for a 10 mile race and last fall, I signed up for a half marathon. I started training for the half when I switched jobs and it became something that I was starting to resent. It wasn’t bringing me the joy that it used to – it felt more like a chore and I would become upset with myself if my pace was lagging. I decided to back out of the half about halfway through and I’m glad I did it. I was able to re-assess why I started running in the first place–for fun. I recently found out I was accepted into the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC in April and I’m feeling much better about running now. The unnecessary pressure I put on myself is no longer there and I’m just going to run to simply run and enjoy it.
Thank you for sharing that, Juliette. I’ve learned that whatever your workout is, you’ve got to enjoy it! Good luck with the half training!
Love this post Marissa- I haven’t been running consistently over the past few months. I love fitting in a long run to have some quiet space to think and also for the happy/fulfilled feeling you get when you’re done. I love your mantra too; I’ll have to use that next time.
Thanks, Jenn! Running is very close to my heart even though it has wreaked a bit of havoc on my body over the years!