Deep breathing. Feet pounding the pavement. Arms keep pace. Me and the road. Letting the road take me where it goes. This is my time. My time to sort out thoughts about everything in life: students, lesson plans, my future, organize my to-do list, run off the stress, regain hope and strength that left throughout the day.
Lately I have been running more than not. One of my Christmas presents was a Nike+ running watch. It tracks: duration, miles, average mile time, and of course calories. At times I do forget to turn it on while I am running, but most of the time I remember. On Saturday I was running with a friend. I was telling him that in high school I could barely run 10 minute miles, and he asked why I decided to pick up running. Interesting question because it is hard to pinpoint.
It was in college-- for sure. I just remember wanting the feeling of freedom, finding something to let the stress slip away, and a place where I can lay it all out on the line. I had friends who always liked running, and I tried it in junior high. But the big turn around was when I ran my first, small, race in college. The feeling of accomplishment, other than academia or praise from friends or family, was there-- something I had never felt before. Knowing that I can always have a goal to strive for, something I want to do.
It is like those Nike commercials. The feeling of your feet pounding the pavement is beautiful. I look forward to it.
Although I was surprised Derek came running with me on Saturday, he said it did feel good to run. He plays basketball, but he forgot what running outside feels like. I came home and plugged in my running tracker. I am still surprised at the averages and duration...
Duration: 51:45
7.1 miles
7:35 miles (fastest 6:03)
It still astonishes me to see that big of a change. I am extremely excited to see the improvement in time during my next race!
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