Just One Run Away...

All of us started with one run. We go out day after day, week after week, rain or shine to do what we love. But before there were PR's, higher paces and longer distances we all were just someone who wanted to run for one reason or another. I think about my first run often, while I don't remember the details as sharply as I once did I know for sure that I had no idea that one run would turn into ALL of this.

In the throws of our day to day lives it can be hard to make the time or have the energy to go out and get miles in. It’s normal to have the thought if it’s all worth the time, pain and dedication that running can take up. Especially while training for a race it can become increasingly glaring how much we put into the sport. While I can't always one run will fix everything, I can't underestimate what one run CAN do.

Recently, I had been struggling as my mileage is increasing and having a block during my long runs. It’s been hard to find reasons to keep going, pushing and trying. Even though I have many “whys”, they couldn’t seem to shake me out of the rut I’d been in. So I put my coach hat on and decided to change my schedule to possibly give me a leg up that would allow me to get over the hurdle I seemed to continuously run into. I put the change in motion and had the best long run I’ve had in weeks. Moral of the story, just go for one more run....

It forced me to remember that we are all only one run away from a different feeling. One run can change your whole outlook, life and well being (Even if you don't realize it in the moment) One run can get you a new PR, new goal, new fitness and even just a simple smile.

If I hadn’t decided to go for one run 7 years ago my life would look vastly different. That one run altered the course of my life and what it would be filled with. Without one run I quite possibly would have never gotten healthy, I wouldn’t be a running coach and I wouldn’t have met some really wonderful people. Above all else I wouldn’t have learned more about myself than I ever thought was possible.

Running may not be the end all be all, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me it’s the difference between who I was and who I am.

I know I will need to remind myself of this throughout the rest of my training cycle when the miles get long and I feel like stopping. I will have to remember that one run can change so much. On a day that everything is going wrong, one run can make it feel right. Even in not so sunny times in life I try to adhere to the same thoughts: one more step forward, one more last bit of effort, one more idea. Just one more....

Missing a run won’t make or break you but one run can uplift like only a few things in life can.