How I Run, Vol. 2

Grit (noun): firmness of mind or spirit.

I’d like to think I run with grit. Although it took me some time to get there.

Back in late January I decided it was time to get back into running. I had been running sporadically since November, but my sporadic efforts meant that I spend most of the time frustrated by the fact that I felt slow, heavy, and so out of shape. And with running just once a week on average, I wasn’t making any forward progress (leading to even more frustration).

After a week of seriously attempting to run, yet always feeling like I was coming up short, I said a big F-You to running! No, I wasn’t giving it up, I just wasn’t going to let it get the best of me. I channeled all my pent up frustrations, summoned up some grit and started to run. I wasn’t going to let any of my mental or physical pain sabotage my run. I didn’t give myself an option when I wanted to stop, I just kept going. I ran 3.5 miles without stopping. It was slow and I felt like I was going to die, but I did it. A few days later I ran the same loop again, this time 90 seconds faster. The next day, a minute faster than the day before.

Two months later, I’m not fighting my body anymore. My mind isn’t telling me to stop, but I keep that same attitude. Like each run is a battle and I am going to come out victorious. Nowadays when I don’t feel like running, I remind myself why I do it. And wouldn’t you know, I almost always end up with the running shoes on my feet!