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For those of you who don't know, the first Wednesday in June is known as National Running Day, and is designed to be a day to promote and celebrate running (Go here for more details). Some of the tweets I've read have alluded to the fact that every day is like National Running Day for avid runners. And while this may be true, it reminds me of Valentine's Day -- we need one day to remind us of the good things we should be doing throughout the year.
As you'd expect, I have a plethora of reasons why I run. I run:
- Because I can
- To destress
- To get some me time
- To get my blood flowing
- To release any pent-up energy (good or bad)
(Note: These are not all of my reasons, but these are the key ones.)
Believe it or not, I didn't like distance running in high school. I steered clear of the cross-country team because 5K seemed too far, and while on the track team, I stuck to sprinting and the field events. But here are some key events in my progression as a runner.
- The time I moved to DC - This was when I started college and started running for fun.
- The time my friend told me I should sign up for this half-marathon she was running - She read about the Philadelphia Distance Run in Runner's World, and said, "You'll be living there. You should join us." So I did. And I felt proud because this was the first time I knew of that I was able to run a sub-10:00 mile. (Before that, I think the last time I ran a timed mile was high school.)
- The time I signed up for a marathon because the registration fee was going to increase the next day - For some reason (to this day, I don't know why), I was on the Philadelphia Marathon's website, and I saw that registration was still open and that the fee was going to increase the next day. This seemed like as good a reason as any to sign up. But I finished.
- The time I moved to NYC - I knew hardly anyone in the city, and so I used running as a way to meet people. The people I met motivated me to sign up for some of the NYRR races and made me a more serious runner. And I developed some great friendships along the way.
So in honor of National Running Day, I was going to run 6 miles. But after mile 4.5, I still felt really good, so I decided to run 9 miles instead. I ran 9.02 mi. in 1:07:36 (7:29/mi pace). Great way to celebrate the day, and how far I've come!
And hopefully, you can get out and run! Even if it's only a mile, you'll still be a mile further than everyone who's still sitting on the couch.
Why do you run? What made you decide to try running in the first place?
