Running

          Running

            The first time I realized I loved running was when I was, for a moment, alone on the Cherry Creek Dam Road. I had been training on and off for about 6 months and was only in it for the cheesecake – if I ran a certain amount of time I would burn a certain amount of calories – i.e. enough to eat some cheesecake.   I had not yet found what some refer to as the runner’s high; the feeling of great euphoria that comes after training hard for quite some time. Alone, on the Dam road for just a moment during my first 5K race, I was able to look around and feel singular in my effort. I had not run a race since high school. The air in my lungs, the cold wind at my back and the view of the majestic Rockies all collided in a moment of gratitude and nearly, the sublime. I was overwhelmed with feeling; so much so that I actually started to cry a little bit. I looked down at the wonder of my legs moving one foot in front of the other, carrying me to the finish line.

To run

Meaning:

To move quickly, so that both legs leave the ground

in Spanish para ejecutar

in French a executer

etymology:

run (v)

the modern verb is a merger of two related Old English words, the first is intransitive rinnan, irnan “to run, flow, run together” the second is Old English transitive weak verb aernan, earnan “ride, run to, reach, gain by running”

Both are from PIE *ri-ne-a-, nasalized form of root *reie- “to flow, run”

Poem:

I am the turtle

I plod on

Footstep after footstep

Until I am done

I am slow

But I am lapping everyone on the couch

Around and around

Until I am done

I am tired

But the kind of tired that makes you feel alive

Heartbeat after heartbeat

Until I am done

I am the sloth

Moving inches (it seems) in a day

Creeping and crawling

Until I am done

I am triumph

There is no giving up

Footstep after footstep

Until I am done.

List of injuries

            IT band strain

            Knee strain (both) 

            Shin splints

            Hip strain/misalignment

            Stress fracture in my left foot

            Loss of three toenails (and counting)

            Non-runners ask questions like “why do you run, its so hard on the body?” Or say things like “I hate running.” I like to say then don’t do it.

 Running for me is meditation.

It’s a way to run away from myself and my brain for a few minutes or a few hours.  If I want to turn of the thinking part of myself (which I need to do from time to time) I will slip on my hot pink trainers and hit the road.  Sometimes the monotony of hearing my feet hit the pavement is the only thing that will quell the adrenaline and quite my mind.  Running is salvation. If I didn’t have running, I would not ever be able to focus on anything. I would get nothing done. It has taken me a long time to realize that running is not something that gets done if I have time, but something that helps me get the time I need. Running is spiritual. I feel more connected to the universe and its infinite beauty when I am outside, jogging through rain and snow and summer heat. I feel like I am a part of that universe. Running is power.  I am overweight. I am the turtle. But I am a runner.