Why I Run.

When I was pregnant, and all full of crazy hormones, I went to the mall with my husband. He was doing something (probably putting Ghost Armor on his phone because that is the only business he ever does at the mall) and I was patiently waiting in a chair by a small fountain. It was the kind of fountain that you throw a penny in while making a wish.

I watched two young kids gasp at the fountain, finding it totally fascinating. They were so impressed and entertained at such a small thing.

When my husband returned, I was crying. I told him that being a kid was so great - everything is exciting and you learn something new at a blink of eye - but we were passed that stage, and we would never get it back. I told him that I wish I could re-do my childhood because I took it for granted. I wish I had appreciated it.

He told me that no child appreciates being a child; it's simply not a concept that their brain can comprehend. But that the neat thing about being parents is that we would get to re-live all those experiences through the eyes of our kids. We would get to appreciate it for them.

Hmmmm, although I am picturing my husband as conjure up this memory, I am hearing my mother's voice. But look, you should have known this was going to be a convoluted memory when I said that I was "patiently waiting" earlier. Does that really sound like me?

But it's the message, not the speaker, that is important.
It is a message that I promptly forgot and did not think about again for over 2 years.

I did not think about it again until a few days ago when I took my kids running. Not running in their stroller, but actual running - on the running path, with their little legs and little feet.

They ran much farther than I expected,
and for much longer than I expected.

They ran with such determination and delight!
But yet, for no purpose.
They dont understand the concept of exercise.
They dont understand the distance nor triumph of a mile.
They dont understand the difference between fast and slow.

They embraced running in its most simple and purist form. They did not need a Garmin, fancy socks nor an iPod with 200 songs.

The ran for the reason that I run - and for the reason that I will always run:
BECAUSE IT IS FUN!!

It is so easy to get caught up in how fast I run, how far I run, how many miles a week I run that I forget WHY I run.

During this taper, I realized that training became too serious.
It was my first time using a coach, my first time using a training plan...I put an absorbent amount of pressure on myself to make this race a PR-bashing race, and it soaked up the real reason I am doing it.

The difference between a 1:30 or 1:33 or even a 1:36 has no impact on my life. One result does not make me more of a runner. So why the stress?

I am going to run this race for all the right reasons:
Because I can.
Because I want to.
Because I love to run.

I am going to smile.
And pace myself.
And have a lot of fun - because that is why I run.
I am not going to wear music, or obsessively look at my Garmin.
I am going back to my roots.

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