I’m a Runner

It has been unseasonably warm the last few days, and I got new running shoes, and we’re getting a blizzard tonight and tomorrow so…. I’ve been running outside! This weather is a gift, and when I am given a special gift, I honor it!

My run on Saturday was amazingly fast for me! I haven’t run outside in MONTHS so I was expecting a 10:00 pace. I ran 4.11 miles in 36:10 for an average pace of 8:47.98. I was, in a word, shocked! People have asked if the work I put into PiYo has helped my speed and I never could tell because treadmill running doesn’t really count when figuring such things. I am now definitely thinking that the stretching from PiYo, and the strength from Hammer & Chisel, is helping my running. I mean, that’s what I’ve been doing since running season ended in November and I’ve gotten faster!

Can I really say I’ve gotten faster?

I wondered that until today, when I went out for a very cold run before the storm comes. I’m sore. My legs ache from that great Saturday run and a tough H&C workout yesterday, so I wasn’t going to push myself. Again, I told myself I’d be happy with a 10:00 pace. I ran another 4.11 miles (because I can’t do less than the last time!) in 38:34 with an average pace of 9:22. And… it felt easy! On a tough, sore, cold day, I would have NEVER expected a pace in the 9’s.

After my run today, I listened to a piece on NPR about an Iowa man who ran around Lake Michigan in 2012. The host was asking what motivates a person to do that. This man was just like me, started his running hobby the exact same way I did. He decided one day to run a race and he hated it. But then, he realized it wasn’t so bad and thought if he could run a 5k, why not a 10k? And if he can finish a 10k, why not a half marathon, etc? As I was listening to him, I thought, “I can see myself running across our state if I had the time” ( he ran across Iowa before running around Lake Michigan). What the?!?! Never would I have imagined I’d be a runner who pushed harder, longer, stronger.

I’m a runner. It’s in me. It’s who I am.