Dear Running,
I love you and I hate you.
You give me roller-coaster highs and epic lows. We shared conference championships, state meets, and numbers of PR’s. But we also shared many sprained ankles, years in the training room, and too many trips to the doctor.
You cause me incredible amounts of pain. I wake up as stiff as a board and limp to the kitchen for breakfast. You put me under the knife 3 times and left me on crutches, unable to take care of myself. I have to warm up for 10 minutes just to feel the joy of pounding the pavement.
But I still love you. You are my favorite past time. I love the feeling of pushing my body through the pain of a workout and the wind rushing by during intervals on a track. Nothing beats the sense of accomplishment of seeing months and years of training pay off at the end of a race. You are my escape from a long day of work, a time for me to relax and shake off the stress that awaits me the following morning. You center me and keep my mind refreshed. You teach me patience, time management, and the value of hard work.
We don’t spend as much time together as we used to, but that doesn’t mean you are any less special to me. You brought me the best friends any person could hope for. The friends I still keep in touch with even though we live in different parts of the country. People who made me into the person I am today. You brought me coaches and mentors that taught me much more than the benefits of a certain type of workout. The type of coaches who developed me as a person. You brought me to a school that not only gave me a great education but brought me closer to God in the process.
Dear running, your pain is worth the joy. Our 75-mile weeks may be over, but you can’t get rid of me yet.
What is an activity that you love and hate?
A big running announcement coming soon…
I appreciate you.
-JP
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