For the love

I ran my first race of the season a couple of Sundays ago: the Kevin Cain Foundation Make My Day 5K in Havertown. It was a relatively small race, but was well-organized and they even had electronic timers which was pretty impressive. My time was better than I'd hoped for, given the limits Pennsylvania allergens had put on my already sparse training. I finished in 27:07 which boils down to an average 8:44/mile (my goal was to be sub-9:00). Given the significant number of hills on the course, I was pretty pleased with this.

Besides just providing a venue for a decent time, during the race, I found myself reflecting on the role running has played in my life. This made me realize just how large the role has been, although the form, intensity, and meaning it has held has varied across time.

In middle and high school when I was running track, it really was all about winning (alright... so it may have been a little bit about track boys and post-meet snacks, but it was mainly about winning). It served as a source of confidence, which was a scarce resource at that time, as it is for many adolescent girls. I took pride in setting goals and trying to improve my times. In fact, to this day I am still proud of my Pierce Middle School 55m hurdle record (Side note: anyone in Waterford know if its still there?). Anyway, back then, performing well was really important to me, and the nervous anticipation before each race would tie my stomach into 115 knots. But the rush after each race was absolutely unbeatable and always made it worth it.

Today, running plays a very different, but still significant, role in my life. I run much slower and farther, but the main difference lies in the reason I run. Now I run simply because I love it, and any winning that occurs would just be an added bonus. Although I make some of my runs reminiscent of my high school running days (i.e., by pushing myself at the end of longs runs or races and imagining I'm back in high school pushing through the last 100m of the 300m hurdles) I do this only because I think its fun. One of my favorite things to do is go to a local track and let my imagination go wild with nostalgia. It isn't too hard to imagine, because our DII (or was it DIII?) dual track meets probably attracted crowds of about 12 parents. In fact, if I'm lucky, 12 people might be loitering around the track that day, and its just like old times! But again, as much as I love reminiscing in this way, this is only one part of what makes running fun for me these days.

I love running now because it is.... whatever I want it to be! Be it a way to clear my head, to observe beautiful Kelly Drive (see picture above), to relieve stress, to get away, to see things I've never seen before, or pretty much anything else, I can always make running fit my purposes. And the best thing is, like a good friend, its always there when I need it. And lucky for me, it is always just a few steps out the door. :)

That being said, here's to an enjoyable running season!

Upcoming Races:

April 24th - United Cerebral Palsy 5K (most importantly, that is followed by a two hour open bar!)

May 4th - Broad Street 10 Mile Run