An Aha and a Reflection

Today, I had an aha moment.  I was driving to church, listen to children worship music with Gavin and Kailee, thinking about my first 5K yesterday, when it hit me....

Right before I turned 16, I ran in a relay at camp and did pretty well.  My part was to run a mile and it wasn't so bad.  When school started, I was in PE and HATED it.  My mom talked to the cross country coach, and he allowed me to transfer to the team a week in.  The first day I ran with the team, I had to run 3 miles at what the coach called a singing pace.  It was not a singing pace for me, but I kept up with the girls and did the 3 miles.  That season was hard for me, going from nothing to a minimum of 3+ miles, but I got through it, and through track season.  The next season was easier (having run in the Texas heat all summer), but I was never fast.  I was definitely one of the slowest on the team--though I must say, neither the coach nor the other girls ever made me feel like I was less important.  I quit track my senior year and didn't really try to run again until after I had Kailee.

In December 2009, I decided to start the couch-to-5K program to get back into shape after having Kailee.  I made it through week 1 and will never forget the day I attempted week 2 day 1.  I started out doing the walking warm-up and when it was time to run, my knees and ankles felt like they were going to break.  I stopped running and immediately had constant pain.  I could barely walk to get home.  I had an annoying pain for a couple of weeks before I even felt like normal again.  It turns out, I have weak joints, probably from 10 years of figure skating combined with the 2 years of running in high school.  I had to give up my running dream, the dream that included someday completing a marathon.

I spent the next two years getting into the best shape of my life with constant reminders that my joints did not appreciate certain moves until my Aunt Karen recommended I try glucosamine chondroitin.  6 weeks into taking it, I went for my first run and my joints survived.  My shelved dream became a possibility.  I started back up with the couch-to-5K program, though I could not run 3 times a week.  While the supplements help the joints, the issues still exist, and I have to be mindful of that.  Yesterday, I ran in my first 5K.  2 years ago, I would not have thought that possible.  While it's no marathon, it's a step in that direction.  My friend's mother-in-law snapped a picture of me crossing the finish line, and looking at it made me tear up.  While, yes, I remember running the 5K, seeing the captured moment really made it sink in that I did it.

So what's the point of my ramblings?  What was this aha moment?  Well, I realized why I had to go on this long journey to become a runner again.  I didn't appreciate it before.  I did not appreciate it at all.  God could have made it easy, but I wouldn't have appreciated it, I wouldn't have learned to love running, I wouldn't have learned how to pace myself comfortably, I wouldn't have appreciated what a gift it is to be able to run.  I learned to pace myself by paying attention to my joints and how they feel.  I change my stride as needed to accommodate my joints' comfort.  I also learned to pace myself by experiencing horrible side stitches and discovering that paying attention to breathing can prevent them.  Not to mention the fact that I never would have discovered how much I love circuit training until I had to look outside my box to find other options.  It's amazing to look back and see how everything had to fall into place to get me here.

I am thankful for everyday that I can run.  I will never take running for granted again.

XOXO,