Yesterday, I almost ended my runstreak.
I know, I was about to hit Day 26 in my streak, but what I had planned for a nice leisurely 6 mile trail day turned into a horrible, no good, very bad day.
So as I sat there in my truck, I thought "It wouldn't be so bad would it? To just not run for one day?"
At this point, all I could think was "I need to go run."
See? The day started with me planning on running. I had every intention of continuing my streak.
And then the day just went downhill from there. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong it seemed. I forgot my Nike+ GPS watch for running a total of FOUR TIMES. I forgot my debit card THREE TIMES. I tried to print off some paperwork and despite the fact that there are THREE printers in my house, none of them work.
I broke down and cried. And as I cried, I thought, "There is no way I'm going to run. I just can't."
And to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was that I coudln't run... Or that I was afraid if I started running, I would just never stop. Forest Gump style.
I needed to do write some reports for work, so I sat down to the mind-numbing task of writing reports. And after a few hours of this, I had convinced myself enough that even though I didn't want to run, I NEEDED TO RUN.
And so, last night I set out on the trails with both dogs. It was hot. It was muggy. There was mud and bugs. And most importantly, it was cathartic.
I was slow. And I tripped and stumbled, but I did it. It hurt. I bailed after four miles instead of six.
It wasn't the run I WANTED. It was the run I NEEDED.
And this is why I love running so much. I may be new to running, but this much I have learned:
Running is my happy place.
It's like a best friend. It may not always tell me what I want to hear. Sometimes it may make me angry and sad. Other times it makes me so happy I want to dance. But running is always there for me. In good times and in bad.
I'm so glad that I've decided to start this journey and I'm even more glad that I decided to keep the runstreak going. I know that I would have regretted it if I had stopped.
I really hope that all of you have found that love for running that I have. I have friends who run simply because it's healthy for them and I feel like they miss out on the joy of running. The happiness that going running can bring. Not because you're fast, not because you can run farther, but simply because you CAN. Just you and your feet, moving forward in life. It's a pretty great metaphor, if you think about it.
And so I wish to all of you one thing: #RunLove <3