By now you have figured out that I’m not one of those runners who will
die if they don’t run every single day.
My brain cannot conceive of participating in a marathon without the use
of a car. I have never gotten “in the
zone” while running and lost track of how many miles or minutes I’ve gone. I don’t look like the scantily clad skinny
girls on the cover of Runner’s World
magazine when I run, all fierce and gorgeous.
I can’t even run more than three
minutes at a time without my lungs screaming at me to PLEASE STOP RUNNING!!! All this, despite the fact that I have been
running for almost four years!
Why Run?
- My legs. I’m 40 years old now,
and despite the nasty spider veins and freckles, my legs look pretty awesome
for a 40-year-old. In my mind, when I
run I am outrunning cellulite. My flexed
quads are rock-hard. My calves rival
J.Lo’s any day of the week. After only a
week or so of not running, my old friend cellulite creeps up and attacks me
from behind.
- Endurance. One of the oldest
moms at Webelo camp, I’m not even breathing hard after a brisk uphill 3-mile
hike where the boys are all whining and red-faced. As a high school secretary, I can spring up
and down those gym stairs in heels with ease to get that kid for his
orthodontist appointment.
- Health. My “bad” cholesterol is
low, and my supposedly good cholesterol is where it’s supposed to be (the
letters escape me…LDL, HDL, PMS, SOS…) when and only when I am running. I will not drop dead of clogged arteries
anytime soon simply because I run, despite my southern roots and tendency to
fry everything and smother it in gravy…and my weakness for tortilla chips.
- The tan. Oh, come on. Everyone looks better with a little
glow. And I wear my mp3 arm-band tan
line with pride, thank you very much.
- It’s absolutely free. With the
exception of a decent pair of shoes, it costs me absolutely no money. All the cool gear and clothes are merely
luxuries. I hate to hear myself panting
so I invested in the arm band, and I honestly think my new neon tank top makes
me .0001 second faster.
- Alone time. I can’t hear my
kids fight when I am out for a run, simply because I am not home. I’m not washing or cooking anything. I don’t have to be nice to anyone. I don’t have to answer a phone. It’s just me and my music. I can listen to Madonna and Korn and Barry
Manilow all in the same run and no one complains.
- Accomplishment. Sometimes on a
bad run when I start to notice people staring at me from the comfort of their
cars I focus on the fact that I am running (or quite probably walking at the
time) and they are not; they are all thinking they should be exercising
too. Maybe I’ve even inspired them to do
just that when they get home. After all,
if I’m willing to look like that in public (red-faced, sweaty, taking tiny
shuffling baby-jog steps, and panting like a basset hound) they might think
they probably wouldn’t look too bad at all.
- Pride. After I run, I am proud
of myself, no matter how bad the run was or how much I ended up walking. I survived another run while someone else
somewhere sat on his or her couch. I did
not let excuses keep me home this time.
I should get a medal for actually displaying the willpower to run when I
really just wanted a nap.
- Endorphins. I have never run
long enough or far enough to feel any kind of runner’s high; I just survive 2.5
miles of running. Then when I get home
and stretch and am dripping with sweat and smelling like a crew of Georgia roofers
after a day of work in late July, there is great satisfaction in the fact that
I am done. I feel good and ready to
tackle whatever’s next in my day.
- Stress relief. If I run when I
am mad at my husband or exasperated with my kids, I will be angry no more when
I get home. This is almost a guarantee. Unless he really ticked me off.
- Inspiration. They say the best
way to teach your kids is to live by example.
I hope my own kids see that anyone can and should exercise…maybe even
run. When they see me after a long day
at work rubbing my eyes with a yawn on my lips but still lacing up my shoes and
going out the door to run anyway, they will see that I have made the decision
to do the right thing for myself that in the end benefits us all (see
above).
