Running Outside of the Box

As I was running tonight, I thought to myself how much I have come out of my safety shell since I became a runner. There are things I would do now I would never have dreamed of prior to running. That got me thinking of my list. Here it is.

Things I would do as a runner, I wouldn’t do before:

1. Pick up a dirty rubber band off the ground and use it in my hair
2. Blow a snot rocket
3. Give up a Saturday or Sunday glued to my computer monitoring friends’ progress in various marathons or triathlons
4. Plan an entire days meals around a single run
5. Plan a vacation around training (or better yet, fly somewhere to run and call it a vacation)
6. Share a water bottle (I still have a hard time at this, but when in need!)
7. Use a port-o-potty (for those that know me, they know I am a germaphobe)
8. Dig in the dirty clothes pile for a workout outfit and using the "sniff" test and realizing "not too smelly" was good enough
9. Spend more money on shoes and clothes from stores with “Running” in the title vs. stores with “Nordstroms” in the title
10. Turn down invites because it would interfere with a run

Runners are creatures of habit I have found out. We are also clever, using what is at our disposal to get the job done. I certainly have changed since I started running, hopefully for the better :-)

Hello, You. Nice to See you Again.

I’m a runner, or so I thought I was. Running and me have taken a break lately. Like in relationships, sometimes you need space to gain perspective, respect and renewed passion. People have asked what caused my break, or “loss of running mojo” as I like to call it, and I typically pause to ponder the question. In the end, I think it was a trifecta of events. First, and most impacting, I lost the love of my life, my Lola. People never can understand how a dog can cause me to lose interest in running, but when she past, I lost interest in a lot of things; uncertain how to gain back the passion I once had for life. The other two events were I moved from Sonoma County to Oakland and lastly, the lack of good running routes. An important run is one I can do right out my front door, in varying distances. That is hard when you live in the land of ginormous hills and frankly, when you don’t know anyone.

But, a funny thing happened today. I met a bunch of runners. And oddly enough, I saw my running mojo intermingled in them all. It is surprising what another runner can do for your own running. I hadn’t met most of these 16 fabulous ladies, but I could see a piece of myself in all of them. The enthusiasm they had for running, the stories only a runner could tell (and understand), the runners clothes, shoes and runners high when the run was finished. That was all me 10 months ago. Just maybe, I’m finding my way back. And these ladies didn’t even know the role they played (and will play) in my re-debut back into running. For this alone, I am grateful to each of them and humbled that they allowed me into their circle.

 

(Photo Credit: RunnersRambles)

As I explained to one of the runners today, there is a culture among runners you can’t find elsewhere. It is only with fellow runners can conversations flow from boob-chaffing, to marathon tinkling to using port-o-potties as a bomb shelter. Only in running have I found that even on the first date, the typical wall of privacy is down, conversations flow despite the anonymity between the two and there is immediate commonalities. One thing binds us all; we all lace up the same pair of shoes (figuratively) and step out the door…to run.

I’m not sure how often I will post, but I vow to do so more regularly than I have. I am bummed that my former running blog on Windows Live Spaces is no longer in existence when they shut down the blogging service. I lost a bunch of great posts. I guess now I have to make up for lost time.