Running Away

One foot in front of the other is all it takes to take the power away from the problems in life.

A year ago I took my very first steps in my very first road race. I was scared out of my wits!


Lets rewind to October of 2003. I was working in a retail job while finishing up grad school.  Imagine me on top of a ladder and then suddenly not!!  That unplanned leap lead to 2 knee surgeries and multiple years of rehab. The pounds packed on and I turned very quickly to sloth like ways.

Fast forward to October for 2011, two kids later, heavier then ever, I was diagnosed with two herniated discs after a trip to the ER. I was given two options: lose weight or have surgery.  At that point in my life I had already had four surgeries too many and really wanted to stay away from having any more.

In my opting to lose weight, I some how got it in my head that running would be a good way to do this. Mind you, I am not graceful and am made up of equal parts clumsy and non-coordination. What made me think that running was going to be a good idea?!

I started slowly, working through a beginning runners program. Worked on my intervals and more importantly bought all the cool running gear!  Why run, if not for all the snazzy stuff that goes with it.

I am by no means a natural runner!!  Every step is a battle with my subconscious self, the one that stands behind me in the mirror yelling obscenities, the voice the knows me better than I know myself.  As I pound the pavement ( and yes I pound.... Because I am still a big girl) the voice gets quieter.  I can put miles between myself and the negative Nellie that sits on my shoulder.  A morning that starts out poorly can have its course shifted dramatically only lacing up the running soles.

I had never before bought into all that running nonsense. "You can run away from your fears and your problems". "A good day is any day that starts with a run."  Really???   I had always thought that you would only catch me running if I was running away from something scary or towards something yummy!!

But....today, I took a different type of step.. I counted my pennies, and I pushed the button.  I officially registered for the Long Island Divas Half Marathon in October.

Yes... You read that right.. A half marathon. To this point my longest distance has been 3.5 miles.  I will need to be able to run 10 more miles on top of that!!!

So stay tuned.. As I train and prepare.  I am sure that along this journey, I will be learning a lot about my self as I put one foot in front of the other ( over and over and over again!)