Thursday, May 5, 2011

I Just Wanna Run


“Sometimes on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one.”
That’s one of my favorite quotes. A couple months ago, I thought I was pretty darn close to one of my big dreams coming true. As it turns out, I was pretty darn wrong! Out of a bad, heart-breaking situation, came a new dream that I never thought I would have. Because of everything I was trying to process and deal with those months ago, I needed something to relieve some tension, serve as a distraction, an escape from my own head. I went outside to take a walk, and I started running. I had forgotten how good it could feel to just run. Yeah, when you’re not used to it, it hurts after a while. I welcomed this hurt though since it still hurt less than my heart did at the time.
I was talking to Shannon one night, and out of the blue she suggested that I train to run a half-marathon in Disney World with her in October. My first reaction? “I can’t do that! I love Disney and all, but I could never run that much in a short period of time! I haven’t even tried to run a 5K! Running just isn’t me.” After a few days of thinking it over, the idea seemed a little less crazy, but still pretty scary. 13.1 miles is a looong way to run, especially when I’m by no means a runner, and I am definitely not conditioned for such a feat. I decided to look up the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon just to see what it was all about. After reading that you will be escorted out of the race if you don’t keep a certain pace, I thought, “Nope! There’s just no way I could do that!” The next time I went for a walk, I timed myself, you know…just to see. After walking a mile in the amount of time I’d have to run a mile in order to keep pace in the half, I thought I might should give it another thought. Maybe it wasn’t so impossible after all?
I had this very discussion with someone once not too long ago, “I’m just not a runner. I know a lot of people have running a marathon on their bucket list, but not me. That’s just not me.” Ha. I amuse myself. You see, I’m one of those people, that if you tell me I can’t do something, I’ll figure out how to do it anyways. Irony is, even when I tell myself I can’t do something, I set out to prove myself wrong. The only running I ever pictured myself doing would be the panic stricken flailing I'd do should i be chased down by a bad guy of some sort. (Yes, I watch too many movies.) Yet, I am training to run a half marathon. Who would’ve thought!? To some, this isn’t such a big deal, and that’s ok. To me, it is a big deal. I'm not really looking to announce to the world that I am doing a half marathon as if I need commendation for doing it. (I don't so much see this blog as an announcement, by the way. Running is kinda the new love of my life, so it fits right in.) It is a personal goal that I am doing just for me, and I am really enjoying the progress I have made so far. I'm by no means this fabulous runner, and I've got a long way (literally) to go. Running, long-distance, is something I never even considered as a possibility for myself, therefore no one else can really understand how much it means to me. 


The run is a beauty. The party is a beast.
This Saturday is my first 5K (that I am running). I am participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (One of my mom’s friends passed away earlier this year after her battle with breast cancer. We are participating as part of the team created in her memory. Should you want to donate to the Race for the Cure, clicky here.) with my mom as part of our Mother’s Day celebration. While we are going together, she will be a walker, and I will be a runner. Yeah, that sounds funny coming out of me. It’s almost like I’ve had a Forrest Gump moment, but I’m not so sure I’m gonna start running across the country or anything. I do REALLY want to visit California one day. And that IS on the bucket list too. Hmm…there’s an idea…
Oh, and what would a blog be without a related song? The song that inspired the title, "I Just Wanna Run" by The Downtown Fiction, is just...too perfect.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

You Are More