The short answer is because I always have, whether I liked it or not.
Running and I have not always been friends. I was an athlete in high school, but never as good an athlete as my big brother (it's okay: I got better grades). I ran for soccer practice in the fall, I ran track (if you can call it running - any activity you can do after going to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard can't really be qualified as running, right, Maribeth?) in the spring to stay in shape for soccer, and I was just generally an active person. But I didn't like running, probably because I wasn't all that good at it. I was never fast and it never came easy to me. And let's face it - it still doesn't!
Then came college, where I chose to do the least amount of activity possible accompanied by a diet that consisted of Keystone Light, white carbs, and the occasional leaf of lettuce with ranch dressing. Every now and again, I'd attempt three miles or so, but within a week I'd lose whatever running habit I'd acquired. And, surprise! I gained weight.
Once I got out into the real world, I decided I wanted to get back in shape but the salary earned by a freelance production assistant in New York City didn't really allow room in the budget for a gym membership. So I started doing walk-run intervals in my crazy-gorgeous neighborhood of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. I'd bring along my iPod and run during the choruses of each song and walk the verses.
Then my friend Christy asked me if I wanted to run an 8K race in Central Park (8K = just under 5 miles). I had honestly never thought about running a race before. The NYC Marathon runs straight through my neighborhood, and each year I'd watch the runners go by and think about how cool it would be to be one of those people, but I never really considered all the distances between nothing and a full marathon. I hesitated but ultimately agreed to run the race with her.
I'd been doing my run-walks for about a year at that point, so the next morning, I went to the gym (I could afford a membership now! Plus it was right across the street from my apartment.) I decided I would try to run one mile straight without stopping, just to see if I could do it. I totally surprised myself - piece of cake! I continued increasing my distance and on race day, Christy and I crossed the finish line together.
(PS to Christy, I don't think I've ever given you enough credit for this. If you hadn't asked me to do that race, who knows if I would have ever figured out that racing and running were something I loved and wanted to continue to do. So, thank you from the bottom of my blistered feet - even though you're so fast now that we'll probably never cross another finish line together, unless it's a three-legged race!)
Over the course of the next four years, I would run 23 more races through New York Road Runners, including seven half-marathons. For a while, I got faster, but now I seem to be getting slower (or lazier?). Getting married and turning thirty within four months of each other might have had something to do with it. But I'm still having fun.
And I think that's my answer. Why do I run? I run because I wanted to lose my college weight, because I couldn't afford a gym membership, because my friend asked me to do a race with her. And somewhere along the way, it turned fun.
Now let's just see if I'm still saying it's fun after 26.2 miles.
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If you'd like to donate to either of the charities I'm running for, click one or both of these links!
Athletes to End Alzheimer's
Emslie's Fight - read Emslie's story then click on my name in the team list
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