I Get to Run - What I love and sometimes hate - about running.

Daily Log:

Monday, March 29, 2017 - 3.25 miles

Lately I have been sporadic at best at my running. Yet, I love to run. 

The things I need to remember that I love about running: 

• I love the challenge to run and to keep running even though my brain says “Last step – just stop!” 
• I love the total feeling of mind over matter when I get finished. 
• I love total miles completed at the end of a week. 
• I love the way my body feels when it’s fit. 
• I love not having jiggly legs! 
• I love running to my favorite music, like John Denver, the Bee Gees, or Bread. 
• I love that running makes me hungry. I love guilt free chocolate milk and peanut butter toast! 
• I love the happy mood that settles in my soul for many hours after I run. 
• I love the YMCA and the treadmills there. (Am I weird or what?) 
• I love the little man who wears a “World War II Vet” hat and a shirt that says, “Each day is a Bonus!” He must surely be 90 years old and yet he marches on that treadmill at a stiff pace for miles and miles at 5AM most every morning. He motivates me every morning I walk in the door of the YMCA. He must never miss a day! 
• I love that my friend Mr. Wessing asks about me when I’m not there. 
• I love the friends I have there who I may not know by name, but who offer me a smile and a wish of a good day when I leave. (They offer me more motivation than any mirror could ever offer.) 
• I love running the Katy Trail. 

The things I don’t love about running: 

• I don’t love leaving my warm nest of a bed and my sweetie to go run in the dark. 
• Time changes kill me. I hate the time changes! 
• Sickness sets me back too far, mostly because I’m not consisting enough in my running. My body struggles to hang on, and yet I will keep running. 
• I don’t love that I look like a wet dog when I get finished. Hate those beautiful runners LOL!
• I don’t love that running shoes are so expensive. 
• I don’t love when my running shorts ride up and my legs rub together. 
• I don’t love that I don’t feel safe on the Katy Trail – my favorite place to run. 
• I don’t love running when it’s cold. I hate running cold. 
• I don’t love that I’m not fast enough to run with a friend. 
• I don’t love that I can’t run and talk. Just haven’t mastered that yet! 

My body feels soft and fat and out of shape. But for now, I can still run. I need to run while I can. This gift of running can be taken from me in one quick stroke of injury or disease. 

I am starting this blog as a journal for my running. It will be a great way to remember the miles, the events I participate in, what I see when I run, and what I look like when I'm runing. I want to remember the scenery and the people I run with. 

 One day I will not be able to run. I may be too old, too sick, too busy, but today I can run. I get to wear running pants and sweat until I am unrecognizable. I get to sign up for 5K events with my child and my friends. I get to see the sun rise or set, and the Missouri River flow beneath my feet. 

I get to listen to my favorite music as I gasp for breath. Let’s see where running takes me this year. 2017. A year when I can still run…

Gina