Born to Run

Have you ever felt invincible? Have you ever had that moment where you feel like you can and will accomplish all that you have hoped to accomplish? Have you ever felt like your body has a connection to any and all things around you? That is the feeling I find when I have a good, powerful run.

I realize I talk about running a lot, but recently the connection I have with running has been a formative and exhilarating part of my life. Though I enjoy running with friends, I also appreciate the time I have when I run alone, be it on a trail, on a track, or on a treadmill. I put in my ear buds and just go and I am not sure that there is anything else in my life that is like that. When I do this, I push myself to my highest limits. I go until I cannot breathe, feel my legs, or move any faster, but somehow I keep going and I often find myself smiling and occasionally crying. I cry at the absolute beauty of what it means to be alive and to be able to push my body to its limits and continue to break barriers and how lucky I am to have this desire. 

I often reflect on how weird this feeling is, this obsession I have with breaking my boundaries while running, but I think it is because it is something that is purely my own. The strong introvert in me rarely is given the attention it deserves. All day every day I am in class, meetings, attending to the needs of friends, family, and residents while trying to find the alone time that I need and crave. On a solo run, I allow myself thirty minutes to an hour where I can be alone with my thoughts and do something that truly only impacts me. This relationship began when I was in middle school and my family was upside down. Though I was only 13, I found solace in tying up my tennis shoes and leaving the familial strife behind the front door. Running is something that has always been mine and something that I almost view as sacred. 

Though this relationship has existed for quite some time, I did not recognize it until this summer when I began to research running. I wanted to know about what a healthy running diet was, proper shoes, proper training for races, how to become faster, how to run on different terrain, etc. If I needed to cheer up, I picked up a book about running, looked up running on pinterest, or tied up my shoes and had some fun. I am beginning to better understand this connection and I am beginning to appreciate what it brings to my life. Sometimes my runs suck. I can't breathe, cramp up, am too dehydrated, too hot, too cold, or too tired, but I will run as long as my body allows me to. I was born to run and I cannot let that go.