Why I Run: For my Kids

I run for these sweet faces.
Trust me, under the skeleton mask is a sweet little guy ;)

I run for these little people.  For their sweet, smiling faces.  For the joy they find in life.  For the simple pleasures that bring them such great joy.  For the ways they can drive me to the brink of insanity one minute and absolutely melt my heart the next.

I run to show them what it means to be strong, fit, and healthy.  To care for oneself so that you can care for others.  To push your boundaries and discover new limits.  To accept disappointment in stride and celebrate victory in the small moments.

I run so that I can be here with them for many years to come.  Watching them grow into charming young people.  Cheering for them as they work towards their goals.  Delighting in discovering who they are in this world.

I run for them.

Why do you run?

Why I Run: To Refocus

It's easy for me to get caught up in the nitty gritty details of my life.  Organizing the family calendar.  Sorting dozens of loads of laundry.  Remembering to send the blue show and tell item to school.  Preparing meals that are both reasonably healthy and reasonably likely to be eaten by my children.  Such details are obviously important and necessary to the functioning of our household, but when my life feels consumed by nothing but minutiae, I need a chance to step back and see the larger picture.

Running provides me with the perfect opportunity to trade my microscope for a telescope.  A chance to look at the bigger picture, knowing that though this stage of life can be exhausting, it is also beautifully innocent and gone in a flash.  One day my son won't want to tell me every thought that occurs to him.  One day I will look at my moody teenager and long to see the curious preschool spirit that once occupied her body.  One day my baby won't light up with joy at the sight of me and want nothing more than a mama hug.

Today is not that day, and I need moments of clarity on the run to remember that life is fleeting.  Innocence lasts just a moment - this moment - and I need to be present to see it.  Surely the days are hard and long, as are the tantrums and the frustrations.  But such is life.  Messy, crabby, and chaotic, but also joyful, loving, and beautiful.

Amen!

When I run, with fresh air in my lungs and sweat on my skin, I can change my focus.  I remember that the days are long but the years are short.  Running refreshes my spirit and recharges my body so that I can be present in the moment, whatever it has to offer.

Why I Run: To Enjoy Nature

Yet another reason I love running: it gives me a chance to be outside and experience nature.  I love the smell of fresh air, the sound of birds, and the sight of trees, grass, and my neighbors' landscaping.  Running gives me a chance to appreciate all that nature has to offer - or at least as much nature as this urban gal has at her disposal.  I feel more alive when I am outside, and running is my excuse to get out and be part of the world.

Sure, I spend plenty of time playing out in the backyard with my kids or going on neighborhood walks with them, both of which I enjoy immensely.  But running provides a perfect marriage of my love of nature and my need for a small window of personal time.

Innsbrook: beautiful views, killer hills, and a happy mama.

I incorporate parks and shady neighborhoods as much as possible into my daily runs, but my heart is happiest when I run out at Innsbrook.  The heavily wooded area provides home to wildlife well outside of my usual squirrel and bunny variety.  I often find wild turkeys, deer, and turtles, not to mention beetles, dragonflies, and many other flying insects.  When I'm not marveling at the wildlife, I enjoy the deep peacefulness of the woods and the coolness of the deeply shaded paths.  Innsbrook runs make my heart and head happy, and they challenge my quads and glutes with their relentless hills.  Happy heart and strong quads?  Life is good :)

National Running Day

Today marks National Running Day, a day to celebrate runners and running.  I celebrated by logging a few soggy, pre-dawn miles with Emily.  A light drizzle started just as we met outside her house, and we raced through our miles in order to finish before the real rain started.  The slight rain actually felt cool and refreshing on this steamy June morning, though I'm glad we were not caught out in the downpour that ensued shortly after we finished.

In honor of National Running Day, I've thought about why I run, and I could fill a novel with reasons.  I run for my physical and mental health, to set a good example for my family, to feel ownership over something in my life, to feel a sense of accomplishment, to foster friendships, etc.  But the reason that stands above the others today is one that struck me while Emily and I were running our spring half marathon, my first 13.1 and her fifth.

During the race, we saw a woman wearing a shirt that read "I run for those who can't," a message that hit home for both of us.  Her mom and my aunt are diehard runners whose bodies won't allow them to run anymore.  We knew that they would have given anything to be out on the course with us that April morning.  Every time the race felt difficult, I thought of them and forged ahead, tackling a challenge that they long to be able to do.

I am lucky to be able to run, and I must run in honor of all those who can't.

I always try to remain grateful for the opportunity to run, but today I am trying to be especially thankful for the ability to run.  For a strong body, a powerful mind, a supportive family, a safe environment; all these things which I can so easily take for granted.  I run because I can.  I run for those who can't.

Why I Run: For Friendships

Yet another reason why I run: running gives me a connection to people with whom I'd otherwise have nothing in common.  Running is a unique activity, and those who run are bonded in an indirect but powerful way.

A perfect example in my life is my next door neighbor.  In the six years that we've lived within four feet of each other, we've had only the most trite of conversations, usually about the weather or the Cardinals.  Since I've begun running, however, we've had countless discussions about running and and related topics.  We are both morning runners, too, so I often see him out on the road mid-run.  He's training for a fall marathon whose course winds through our neighborhood and has tried to convince me to join the half-marathon, but I don't think this is the right time for me to take on such a significant distance.

Through Facebook, I've become good friends with many former classmates through running.  We may have talked a bit when we were in school together, but we've become much better friends as adults because we are all runners.  We are bonded through sweat, hard work, and determination in a way that non-runners don't quite understand.

Why I Run: To Set (and achieve!) Goals

I run to give my life structure and clearly-defined goals.  After the rigidity and predictability of academic life and the obvious goals that go along with growing up, I was shocked to find myself floundering in the adult world with few goals in sight.  I'd finished my master's degree, gotten married, bought a house, found a job in my field, and started a family.  As far as adult goals are concerned, I didn't know what else I might hope to achieve.  And I was surprised to find that without goals, I felt aimless and ungrounded.

Enter running.  Running has become a perfect way for me to set goals, both large and small, and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes along with meeting them.  My goals have included finishing the Couch to 5k program, running my first 5k, gradually extending the distance of my long run, running a 10k, consistently running 4 days per week, adding in a day of cross-training, and most recently, completing a 10-mile run.  I love the built-in goal setting that comes with running and the tremendous feeling of pride as I accomplish new milestones.

Setting goals and hitting the mark.  It's what we mother runners do.

Why I Run: To Set an Example

I run to set an example for my kids.  I want them to see running as not only an activity that improves my health, but as one of the ways I take care of myself.  I brush my teeth, I visit my OB annually, I run; in all of these ways, I take care of me.

My kids watch me as I spend most of my day taking care of others: fixing meals, patching up skinned knees, settling arguments, folding laundry.  But when I put on my running shoes, they know that I'm heading out for some personal time.  When I come back, I'm hot and sweaty, but I'm also relaxed and refreshed.

I want my kids to know that taking care of themselves is just as important as taking care of others.  Not in a narcissistic way, but if we do not care for ourselves, what could we possibly offer to anyone else?  A broken foundation can do little to support its surrounding structure.  Since I feel like the foundation for my family, I know that I need to care for myself, and I want my kids to learn this lesson, too.

Running is the mortar that helps hold the bricks of my foundation in place.

Though they are only 2- and 4-years-old, I think running is starting to infiltrate their lives.  They point out passing runners when we are in the car, and they hold races in our backyard all the time.  They joined me as we cheered for my husband at his first 5k earlier this summer, cheering not only for their dad but also for all the other runners who passed our corner.

Even if running does not become their lifelong habit, I hope they find something to do that is just for them.  Perhaps it will be music, woodworking, poetry, or cycling.  I don't care what it is.  I just hope that they find it and cherish it as much as I do running.

Why I Run: To Recenter Myself

I run to recenter and focus myself. With temperatures at 106 degrees for the second day in a row, the little people in my house (and the taller ones, too) are a bit cranky. We've played outside in the mornings, but they are feeling cooped up in the house, and it seems we all have short fuses lately. After a particularly rocky morning, I knew I needed to do something to regroup during naptime. Sitting on the couch with a pint of ice cream sounded appealing, but I knew that would leave me feeling frustrated with myself. A run, on the other hand, could help me regain balance and feel focused.

It's summer in St. Louis: hot, humid, and just getting warmed up.

After singing the requisite naptime songs, I sought the solace of my basement treadmill. I always prefer running outside to running on the treadmill, but on blisteringly hot days like today (or blustery days in the winter), I'm grateful that I have an indoor option. I set low expectations for today's run. I just wanted to run for 30 minutes to get my heart rate up and burn off the frustration of dealing with overheated and overtired toddlers. I surprised myself by setting a PR for the treadmill course I selected, and according to my heart rate monitor, I logged a higher maximum and average heart rate than I've measured on my outdoor runs lately.

Now, after a shower and some stretches, I'm feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, and ready to face the rest of my day. And the icing on the cake? There's still 40 minutes left of naptime ;)

Why I Run: For Me

There are so many reasons to run that I could fill a book with them.  Instead of compiling my reasons into an omnibus post, I thought I'd post a series of "why I run" posts.  Today is the first entry in the series.

I run for me.  In my life, 98% of my energy is spent catering to other people's needs: my children, my husband, my family and friends, my co-workers, etc.  When I run, however, my focus is solely on me.  I decide how far I will go and how fast.  I pick the route, the water breaks, and the music.  I sometimes feel like my days click by without much input from me, but my runs remain an area of my life over which I can exert some modicum of control.

And when mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.