How Running Changed My Life

Happy Global Running Day!

Running changed my life so dramatically in the past 2 years or so, now I can’t imagine my life without it. Today I am going to share with you some great running resources, my favorite all time running posts and what running means to me.

If someone told me 4 years ago that I’d not only like running but I’d do it for FUN I would have given them the side eyes of ALL SIDE EYES. Running was always SO hard, I would run 5ks for fun, like The Color Run or running on airport runways, and the next day I’d be SO sore and SO tired and I would vow I’d never run again, but I did. It always had a call on me.

What started with the intense desire to run a 10k, turned into a need to run a half marathon. Somewhere during training for 13.1 I found myself saying very weird things like “I need to go for a run” or “How many miles are on my training plan today?!” to my favorite “OH MY GOSH I JUST RAN 10 MILES!”. It is no longer the hardest thing ever, I am a card carrying member of the back of the pack, and I might even be slower than I was when I started. None of that has changed the intense love that has grown so deeply and SO unexpectedly.

Since starting to train almost exactly 2 years ago I’ve run 11 half marathons, countless 10ks, and even a FULL marathon. (Which I plan on tackling again this year!) I have read countless information, toed the line at countless races, wanted to give up in the middle and thought more than once, maybe running isn’t for me.

But it is.

Consistency and crossing the finish line over and over has built an incredible love of running in my heart that I could NEVER let go of. I will never be first in a race or even in the middle, but something about running brings me joy that I can’t ever imagine living without. A lot of people say running is “not my thing” or “too hard on the knees”. I thought these things once–now look at me. A curvy running junkie with no plans to ever stop.