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My Quest To Find The Runner’s High
By Ana | June 19, 2012
Last month, my best friend ran the Cap City Half Marathon. She did everything herself: training, motivational self-talk, icing sore legs, and showing up on race day without freaking out and going home and crawling under the covers. She is my hero.
And she has inspired me. Next May, I will also be running the Cap City Half Marathon, 13.1 miles through downtown Columbus on a (hopefully clear and cool) spring morning.
Around the second week of May, I started basically at the bottom. A mile was just about as far as I could go before jumping off the treadmill in exhaustion. Two miles was crazy talk. I hadn’t been seriously running since high school.
But let me tell you: things have changed.
This is something I’m doing for no one else but me. No one can train for me. No one can cross the finish line for me. No one can run this for me. And every time I’m exhausted and don’t think I can take another half mile, I think about how absolutely incredible crossing that finish line is going to be. How I’ll sprint through and throw my arms in the air and maybe even cry a little and say, I did it. I did this. It’s going to be the best feeling in the world.
Today I ran four miles. I don’t know if I’ve ever run that far in my life. No stops, just powering through. And I feel amazing. Like I can do anything. I feel like this girl, Jessica. I came back to the house and thought, “Hmm…maybe I could have gone even farther.” Running is so much more….mental than I ever imagined. I used to freak myself out about numbers. Like, “X number of miles is too far, I could never do that.” But it isn’t about counting the miles or the steps or being that meticulous. It’s about pushing yourself and moving forward and letting the miles add up behind you.
Last week I ran ten miles over three days. This week, it’ll be more. And I’ll be faster.
I plan keeping up with training in England, too, at least as much as possible between traveling and classes. All I really need is a road, an iPod, a good pair of running shoes and a good chunk of time. And by May, I will be more than ready.
Topics: Ana, fitness, Personal, Personal Events | Comments Off
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