Mendolonium

In high school I decided to take up running.  At the time, I was applying for entrance to normal colleges (actually, I don’t think anyone would consider Caltech normal) as well as the Naval and Air Force Academies.  I figured that if I went to a military academy I would be doing lots of running so I might as well make my peace with it.  I bought a pair of athletic shoes  – I don’t even think that I knew running-specific shoes existed and hit the pavement.  I hated it.  I was incredibly self conscious wondering what others thought of me and how I looked.  I was bored with nothing to look at but identical suburban tract homes.  I was in pain with shin splints from running on concrete in poor shoes.  In the end, even though I was accepted, I decided that a military academy was not right for me (turns out that was a good choice) and thus ended my self flagellating running adventure.

I’ve made no secret that the past couple of years have been rough for me, but throughout it all, I have found exercise to be an amazing anti-depressant.  Of course, finding the time to exercise between the demands of family, work, and home is not trivial.  And since I switched to a new position at work in September, featuring 2 – 3 hours of commuting, on my workdays my exercise time has seemed to evaporate.   A couple of weeks ago I was struck by an odd thought out of nowhere…”I want to go for a run.”  I am not sure what came over me.  Perhaps it was the glorious cool and sunny weather.  Or maybe it was the epiphany that I could exercise with the kids if I ran with them in a double jogging stroller.  A few days later, much to my surprise, I laced up my shoes, popped my baby in a jogging stroller, and went for a run.  And I liked it.

I liked it so much I decided to start the couch to 5K program.  I test drove double jogging strollers and then stalked craigslist until I found my favorite at a reasonable price.  I ordered myself a pair of spiffy  running shoes.  I don’t care what I look like.  I am having fun with the kids looking at all the beautiful houses in our neighborhood. I am taking it slow and listening to my body.  I am having a blast.  And it’s not just the exercise itself that’s been uplifting, it’s the knowledge that at 32 years old I can still surprise myself.  I am not always who I thought I was.  Apparently, I am a runner.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 3:13 pm and is filed under Me. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.