I’m staring at the path that I’m about to conquer. I need to prepare myself. I pull one leg up and stretch it. Repeat. I set my watch to GPS mode and choose the first song on my playlist that catches my eye. I’m ready, and I take off. I feel my legs move effortlessly, moving mile after mile. The delicate balance of getting my pace right becomes easier and easier after every lap. My arms shuffle with the same momentum as my legs, carrying my body through the different streets that I run on. The music is blaring through my headphones and I am singing out loud with no care in the world. I am enjoying myself.
I never thought I would consider myself a runner. All throughout high school and the first half of college, I hated the thought of having to run even half of a mile. Then something changed. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that it is so important to find an outlet where I could exert any bad energy I had, and turn it into something positive. Physical activity is by far the easiest way to do this. I don’t know how I ended up choosing running, considering my past and how I felt about it, but I did. One day I decided to go for a run and found that I could easily run a couple of miles, but that’s not why I liked it. I liked it because while I was running, I could think about all the things that upset me that day, and I could sweat out all of my frustration.
The beauty of running is that it is just you and your thoughts. You can work through any problems you might be dealing with, you can plan for what you need to do tomorrow or you can just choose to listen to your music, it’s all up to you. And that’s why I love it.
I often hear people around me talk about the same frustrations I have, and sometimes hear “Ugh, I just need to go out tonight and forget about it.” In my opinion, I think going for a run can do much better to the body and mind than going out to party. It doesn’t have to be running, although I highly recommend it, but just moving your body and getting physical activity into your life can be so beneficial. It truly does change your mindset into an overall positive one. Let’s also not forget about how your body will change too.
Running has taught me so many valuable lessons. It’s a sport based completely on motivation. You can run one mile, but do you want to stop there or at 10? I choose 11. I’ve also learned that no one is going to be there to make you run your mile faster, or run longer, apart from you. Running is such an individual-based sport, but the community for it is enormous. The reason for this? Runners all share one thing in common: a passion for improvement. Running has made me into such a better person, I can’t imagine ever stopping it. Just a year ago, I struggled to even run a short distance without getting sick; now this year, I am entered into multiple races, including a half-marathon.
Take it from someone who has started at the rock bottom of fitness levels, anything is possible. So get out, get moving and enjoy your run.
