Friday, April 20, 2012

Remembering Why I Run

This Tuesday was a challenging running day for me. I struggled with my own emotions about running and was unable to push myself as much as I had in the past. On Thursday when I had scheduled to run, I decided that I would go run a route that I had always wanted to and not worry about time, distance or speed. I wanted to rekindle my love for running. I didn't want to think about training and the stress that comes with pushing yourself to reach certain goals. I just wanted to put on my iPod and get out there and do what I love... run. My husband was great and came with me to the start of my route which happened to be the elementary school that he teaches at so he was familiar with the playground and things he could do with Baby Bubs. Turns out Baby Bubs took her morning nap in the car so he was able to relax in the car during my run.  He even offered to time me if I wanted to just run with music and not my Nike+ app.

Powder Point Bridge (July 9, 2010)
It was the perfect weather for a run... 58 degrees and a little overcast. I started out on my run and headed toward one of my favorite places in the world. When I first met my husband and moved to MA with him, he brought me to a long wooden bridge that connected the local beach to the "mainland." It's a gorgeous bridge that is surrounded by one of my favorite things in the world... the ocean. The way the sun hits this bridge and the beach no matter what time of day is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It's actually the place where my husband planned to propose to me until he realized how many people where there that night. Although we did get engaged a little ways down from the bridge, it will always be a special place for me because my husband and I had our wedding pictures taken there after the ceremony.  How can you not love it!?

July 9, 2010
Since this is my favorite place, it was the only logical place that I try to regain my love of running. By the time I had reached the bridge it was already almost 2 miles into my run and I was running under 10 minute miles. Not a consistent pace, but consistently under 10 minute miles. I had decided before I ran that I would still measure my distance and time for my run, but do it under a "basic" workout. This meant that I wouldn't get any time or distance updates during my run, but I would be able to check in to see how far I went at the end. This was still important to me because I wanted to just monitor that I wasn't going to run too fast and have to walk back because I hadn't taken care of myself. The rest of the run back to the school was along the harbor and it was such a beautiful sight to see the sun start to break through on the harbor. It was such a quiet time of day and I was able to just enjoy my music and the sights around me. In the end I had run 4 miles in 38 minutes and 40 seconds, a personal best.

It was such a reassuring run and made me realize that I had to remember why I had originally started running again, because I love it. I needed to reconnect with what running meant to me. Just in time because my first 10K is on Sunday and I'm hoping that I can remember how I felt yesterday when I run the race. I'm not going for a specific time because it will already by my personal best. I'm just hoping that I can finish the race strong and leave feeling accomplished. Isn't that the whole goal of distance running?


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