Lots of people run to get healthy, to lose weight, to accomplish a race goal.
Myself included.
However, the biggest reason I keep running, the biggest reason I push on through the aches, the pains, the tiredness, and the heavy breathing is because of this: running keeps my mind healthy.
I use my running time to clear my mind, to give thought to serious things that I can’t seem to give thought to when my children are around (they are SO loud!) or when living life. My mind gets so cluttered with the life stuff, the children stuff, the house stuff, the marriage stuff…..you know, STUFF. At night, I am too tired to think about me or the important things going on around me that need my mental attention.
When I run, I can physically feel whatever is ailing me leave my body.
Today was no exception.
My plan was to hit the treadmill at the gym as it is 38 degrees outside and drizzly. Yucky running weather. I wore running shorts, a sports bra, and a running jacket to keep me warm from the parking lot to the indoors. I got on the treadmill and cranked out a slow 0.35 miles when all of the emotion of the past week seized my heart and I knew, I just KNEW that I was going to do the ugly cry right there on the treadmill, surrounded by a hundred people.
Before my emotions could escape my body and hit the gym floor, I jumped off the treadmill and hauled ass outside. To the 38 degree cold, drizzly weather. And I took off. I let my feet fly and my emotions go. I cried for a solid 8 minutes and ran the entire time. Tears rolled down my face as my feet pounded the pavement. My mind LET GO of all that was weighing it down.
I kept moving. My tears stopped, my mind felt peaceful for the first time in days, and towards the end of my run, my thoughts turned to “I CAN DO THIS, I CAN MAKE CHANGES TO MY LIFE AND EMBRACE THE NEW-NESS OF WHAT IS TO COME IN THE NEXT 6 MONTHS AND I WILL BE OK….I WILL BE BETTER THAN OK, I WILL BE GREAT”.
Of course I will be OK, because I’ve got running to keep me healthy- my heart, my mind, my body, and my soul.
The Power of One.
PS- And before everyone gets all freaked out thinking something is horribly wrong, I will tell you that nothing is horribly wrong at all. I have some positive, happy, exciting changes coming to our life/our family in these next few months, but well, I don’t like change, even when it’s good change. I am one of those people who like the status quo and predictability my husband is cringing right now and change is scary to me….you know, that whole “fear of the unknown” thing. Things are happening quickly and lots of decisions are having to be made, on top of the daily craziness that is our life. I get overwhelmed by all of it at times- that is all.
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