I'm a Runner!

That's what I posted today on Facebook after running a mile on the treadmill. It felt good. No, it felt great! This mile long run was actually the second run of my return to this amazing sport. For the first run (yesterday), the plan was to do a mile. Alas, it was not to be. I made it about half a mile and called it quits. I came out of the gate too quickly and ran out of steam. I wasn't down or mad at myself. It didn't bother me one bit. A half-mile run was the longest I had run in over 4 months. It felt great. Today, I tried it again--and hit that mile. Again, I felt wonderful.

I think we all start to take running for granted when we've been training for a long time (I think most of us are in a constant state of training). We over analyze how far we've run and how quickly we got there. We worry when our pace is off and when we didn't run as many miles in a week as we planned. Right now, i'm in a wonderful place. I'm not training for anything; I don't care how far I go or how quickly I get there. I'm running for the love of running. Ok, you got me--i'm also running to shed the 10 spot I gained while I was sidelined. But either way, i'm running for me.

Who knows how long this will last. As I get stronger and start running more, i'm sure I will have the urge to hit this pace or run that distance. But for now, i'm just happy being a runner.