Published on
Picture
Picture
I have always loved running

Three years ago I was training for a half marathon
And then I got cancer.

A year-and-a-half ago I was signed up to run a 5km race
Then had to drop out two days before because my counts dropped too low. 

Nine months ago I signed up with a personal trainer
She whipped my butt but she got me moving again. 

And on Saturday
After 23 weeks of training 
I ran a half marathon
And it felt So. Damn. Good. 

The past few years have been such a rollercoaster. 
Not just physically, but emotionally too
Depression and anxiety have been slaying me
I have had trouble getting out of bed
And then I had panic attacks before heading out the front door.

But I always feel good when I’m running 
The aches and pains that bother me when I’m not moving 
Seem to go away when I’m running
(Knock on wood) 

I’ve been training with the Nike+ Run Club App
It’s such an incredible resource (and free!) 
You plug in the date of your race,
Your level of fitness and experience
And it builds a training program 
That adapts itself as you complete (or miss) the runs. 
It got to me a level of fitness I’ve never had before. 

Mid-way through the training
A friend sent me a copy of Born to Run 
It was a game changer 
It got me thinking about running in a whole new way
I went from enjoying running
To being passionate about it. 

Race day was so thrilling 
The sea of people in active wear
The people who come to cheer on their friends and family members and perfect strangers 
The homemade signs 
You’re running better than our government! 
You’re almost at Nathan’s! and 
Tap to Power Up! beneath pictures of Mario Kart mushrooms and stars

The volunteers at the fluid stations
Pouring cups of water and gatorade
Cheering the runners as we zip through
Looking great runners! Keep it up! 

The bands dotted sporadically throughout the course
Rock bands and jazz bands, and at one point, a lone fiddle player 

The way the runners encourage each other 
As we passed mile markers, a runner would call out the mile number
And everyone would cheer.

In the last 800m of the race
My playlist switched to “Put on Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly! 
Out there, there’s a world outside of Yonkers! 
I got so emotional 
I’m doing the things! Running feels amazing again! 
I’m healthy and I’m here
It feels like forever since I've felt this good. 


I was tired at the end
Needed a nap and two dinners, 
But I wasn’t dead
I could actually walk the next day without pain and
Two days later I was ready for another run. 
Yesterday, I did my first training run for the NYC Marathon

Bring it on. 
0 Comments

archives