Can I tell you about my running?

Normally I am not self-conscious at all. It never crosses my mind that someone might be watching or judging me. I am joyously oblivious if anyone thinks I don't belong or am not doing something the way I "should" be doing it. Like water off a duck, the eyes of judgy people don't make a dent in my hand-spun armor.

Except for running.

When I started running at (cough) 49 I was so blown away by my ability to run 60 seconds I wanted to shout it from the mountain tops but honestly, didn't want people to feel bad because they weren't running as well. I also didn't want to let my runner friends know for because of how slow I was. I even got to a point where I wouldn't run down any street on which anyone I knew lived. This got more and more tough as I live in a smallish town and know someone on just about every street in town. Then I ran my first 5k, then my first triathlon. Yes I was slow but I realized I was never last... in fact I even took first in my age category once (!!)



After months and months of not running I laced up my tennis shoes and got out there starting Couch To 5k over once again! That was memorial day and now, 5 months later, I have been running 3-4 times a week every single week! The best part is I have taken to driving myself to different trail heads in my area so my runs are all in the woods and along the river. I am not sure which is better for my well-being but between running and forest bathing I haven't taken anything for anxiety in months! Running is my drug and my rock.



Am I any faster than I was at 49? Ha! No but I am no longer avoiding streets where I know people. Honestly, though, I don't run much on sidewalks because the forest is where I love to sweat. But I don't go on Facebook with any of my successes. I keep those for the Community Feed here on Sparkpeople. I am not sure why but it seems I'd just be annoying if I did too much social media about my running. Am I ashamed? No. Am I shy? Never. Am I afraid if I waste too much energy on sharing my running that there'll be none left for actual running? Probably. I just can't bring myself to post much about it.




But we're all friends here. Right? So I'll brag a bit. On May 25 it was all I could do to run 60 seconds then walk 90 seconds back and forth 8 times. Now I am running 60+ minutes without dropping to a walk. It is the best thing ever. I'm slow. I'm as slow as a turtle stampede in peanut butter but I run. It is my joy and my challenge. There is nothing better than having room for improvement and filling it with love and determination. My next goal is 5 miles! It may take almost an hour and a half but I know I can do it so why not try?




All of the photos on this blog were taken while I was running this summer. Taking a photo while running is also a new trick I learned!