I am a runner

I love running.  When I run, I’m able to let the world and all it’s problems fly out the door.

When I run, I feel strong. I feel alive.  I feel unconquerable. 

Our society tells women that we need to be thinner, wrinkle free, smell good, wear the right clothes.  There are messages that bombard us daily.  It’s hard to not get caught up in all we “should do.”

When I run, those messages go out the window.  All I focus on is my breathing, telling me that my heart is pumping blood though my body.  When I begin running up a hill, my legs tell me they are strong, able to tackle anything. 

See running, for me, is not about how I look (but I will admit that it’s pretty wonderful to run a long ways and enjoy the spoils of that labor in the shape of a big ice cream sundae or beer and fries).   Running for me is about being a strong woman, a woman who is able to be healthy, able to set goals and then met them. 

I am not Paula Radcliffe or Deana Kastor.  I don’t run fast. I don’t run ultra marathons.  BUT I am a runner.