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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Running like a girl

Boys and girls are different. We all know that. And, I for one, celebrate those differences. I love being a girl! Being different means we run differently. I used to let it bother me that I could train for a year for a race, while my man sat on the couch eating cheese dip, and he would still beat me without breaking a sweat. I mostly don't let that bother me anymore. Today's run was a perfect example. We are in South Carolina and we're staying in the backwoods (I don't know the town - we're at a motorcylce race). There are wonderfully hard packed dirt roads, with little to no cant. Now, I know that if you're a runner, you're already green-eyed, but there's more. I slept in a little, so by the time I started, the weather was upper 40's to mid 50's, with no wind, and beautiful sunshine. It really doesn't get much better than that for a run. I think at one point I heard my knees break out in the Hallelujah Chorus! It was truly magnificent. How was it a girl run? Well, if my man had gone with me, given the perfect set of circumstances, he would have kicked it up a few notches and really pushed hard. It was an 8 miler for me, and I have a training plan for those, which I stuck to (for the most part). I ran my 2/1 intervals, with only a couple of pushes, and when I was done, I think I could have easily tacked on 10 more. I was pleasantly tired on the half mile cool down, and I still have juice in my legs to finish my day. My point is to run your run. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing. There are LOTS of girls I know who have a competitive streak as strong as anyone's and run all out on every run. That's fine, too. That is their run. I run for lots of reasons. For fitness, to lose/keep off weight, to keep disease at bay. I run because it makes me strong, physically and spiritually. But, the single most important reason that I run is because I LOVE how it makes me feel. Clear and focused. Ready to face my day. Now, I do include training runs that push me. Hills (Yuk!), speedwork, and strength training (triple Yuk!) are all included in my training plan. But, my favorite runs are those like today. Soul soothers. Reminders of the goodness of God and the beauty that surrounds us. I always try keep my eyes focused on my run, no one else's. I enjoy running with my man sometimes. He really pushes me, and I think that's a good thing. But, I'll keep on running my run, and savoring the sweet ones like today. And I'll do it in a skirt.

1 comment:

  1. How did you know I needed to see this post! I have spent the last hour trolling results of a race in another state, just to see someone else's results. It is fueled not by wanting to congratulate this person, but by a petty desire to see if I am still better. Thanks for the reminder for me to run my own race, not one to be better than others.

    I'll be running Seaside in a skirt!!!! I got one special for it.

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