I feel like I dabbled in running way back in 2010, the year that was Life's Greatest Experiment. I tried all sorts of things I had previously felt were beyond my realm of possibility. Once single parenthood became not an option but alarmingly necessary, my entire world crumbled before my very eyes. But then! Possibilities opened everywhere I looked, because seriously, if I could manage this life all on my own, who's to say running is off the table? And if I could run a 5k, why not refinish my dining room set and learn how to fix things with a screwdriver? Ditch cable TV in favor of NPR? See if I can make it through a hot yoga class without suffering immediate death? Feature cereal and yogurt as a regular dinner menu option?
It was easy to make NPR and cereal and regular use of a screwdriver part of my new, strange life. Sanding furniture and hot yoga were checked off the list and I moved on to something else. But running was different. It kept pulling me back. The novelty has long since worn off, I possess an impressive collection of 5k race t-shirts, and still it whispers to me. The whisper sounds something like this:
'Pssst. Hey, Amy. Yeah, you. Frazzled one. Come with me. Plug yourself in to your loud, 160 BPM music and focus on some point in the distance. Put one foot in front of the other. Keep moving and I promise you, I will clear your mind.'
Running. You win. I will buy the sports bras and program my fancy watch with it's pedometer and heart rate monitor. I will download podcasts and read the blogs of runners far more advanced than I. I will log my daily miles and I will follow a 12-week training course to get me ready for a half-marathon in May. I will use an Albuterol inhaler when I run outside because, wow, the absence of fire in my lungs allows me to focus all the more on...nothing.
Thank you, Running, for clearing my mind. You have brought focus to what has otherwise been a cluttered and chaotic existence.
But thank you, mostly, for reminding me to literally just put one foot in front of the other. Move. Keep moving and all will be well.
2 comments:
Excellent! Well done, grasshopper!
Yea, Amy! I'm so excited for you and proud of you! I ran one last year and LOVED it. You are so right...running ALWAYS clears my head and reminds me of just exactly what I'm capable of doing. Which is generally more then I give myself credit for!
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