Why I run.

So running is the type activity that you either love or hate...sometimes it's even a love/hate all in one. I am currently training for a half marathon in January with my sweet hubby. When people find out I can get some odd looks...like a I just bit into a lemon look. They say things like "I've never gotten the running high," or "I get so bored!" And I can tell you every run I make is not a perfect experience. I have to mentally and physically challenge myself to go farther or faster. But there are several reasons why I run. I run to clear my head. It's easy to get in a zone when I run. I can smell the air and listen to the sounds of nature (if I'm outside) and just take in the beautiful world around me which is much more difficult to do in a car. I can think. I think about God. I think about my week...about the world around me. I run because it's an accomplishment. I think to myself "How many other people ran 9 miles this morning?" And no one can take those 9 miles away. I did it. And it's done.

But mostly I run because I can. If you knew me as a teenager there were a couple of years where walking wasn't even in the picture. Due to a degenerative bone disease I had two spinal fusions (one with hardware) which landed me in a wheelchair and a hard plastic brace that went from my chest to my tailbone. I was a swimmer at the time. I remember telling my doctor in tears how the water was my life and I love to compete. And I will never forget his words. "There will be other things," he told me as tear ran down my face. Once I got over my own pity party I bucked up. Have you ever had one of those times where you want to do something even more because someone says you can't? Yea, this was one of those times. I refused to have help in school as I pushed myself campus. I drug books out of my locker and put them on the back of the chair. I even went to PE and worked my upper body. I was stubborn...still am. Almost two years later I was in the clear I went back to the pool...and I joined the cross country team just to prove to people I could do this. And I did. My senior year I was co-captain of that team. And although I was never fantastic or truly talented I was competing again..in two sports.

I am still not super fast..gotta remember I am barely 5'2, not exactly built to run. I still have days where I drag. In fact just yesterday I fell flat on my face while running (my nerves in my right leg still aren't exactly firing on all 8 cylinders). Thank goodness I live in the country and the road I run on has very little traffic so no one saw my graceful act. The key is that I got up, dusted myself off, and told myself, "OK let's go." I do this because I can. And now that I am able to run I don't want to waste it by not doing it.

Now I have a child that has been told "There will be other things." So I run for him. I run to raise money so that maybe one day he will enjoy some wedding cake or Thanksgiving supper. The Disney World Half Marathon and CURED (http://www.curedfoundation.org/) will help me do that.

So if you live in Georgia and see some little thing trucking down the road singing the chant in Finding Nemo where Nemo passes to through Mount Wannahacaloogi (oo ee oo ah oo oo oo oo) to the beat of my feet hitting the pavement...it's just me, running because someone once told me "There will be other things."