How a person becomes passionate about a subject is a complete mystery. Whatever the reason is not always important; instead, it is how the person lives out the passion.
Honestly, I have a lot of things I absolutely adore; yet, the one thing that I have done almost everyday without being forced is running :) I am not a superstar, competitive, nor have the training knowledge. Just put one foot in front of the other.
"Excellence is an art won by training and habit. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, than, is not an act but a habit." - Matthew 28:19-20
My love of running started when I was a eighth grader. I would run back and forth from my house to the end of the driveway about eight times. I thought I was pretty good! The next summer I ran to the bottom of Kyle's Hill (about 1 mile each way). Then one evening while hanging out in Mike's parking lot, Kyli (a high school friend) asked if I wanted to do cross country. I was going to be a senior. I had never ran more than two miles. Sure why not!
"Let us run the race that is before us and never give up… So do not get tired and stop trying."
- Hebrews 12:1
When college hit I quit running. Soon I realized I loved late night pizza and ice cream with friends, and I knew I had to start doing something. I would run 3 miles each day for a week and than 4 miles each day for the next week on the SDSU HPER track. No iPod, just me panting.
That summer I was headed to Lutsen Resort without a car. My mode of transportation were my legs. A lot of exploring was done by jogging three miles to a convenience store or up a road to see if a golfing tee time was available. I really enjoyed the serenity of just nature and me.
The rest of college was a running goulet. Running allowed me to review my notes on the treadmill, recite my forensics speeches (I was such a loser talking to myself!!), clear my mind, or watch television (the only way I can watch Oprah). I would even run to bring in the New Year.
When I reached graduate school my good friend Barb suggested I run for a study. Basically I would run for 45 minutes to an hour for five days a week. In return, they would pay me $15 in Beef Bucks.
However, I admit this study was not easy on me mentally or physically. I was required to run whether I wanted to or not. I'm sure if I would have whined I could have taken a break, but knew how important it was to collect the data. So I ran…
All that running prepared me for my first half marathon in Fargo, ND! It was amazing and I couldn't wait to try it again with friends.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
-- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
So on President's Day weekend I talked my amazing group of friends to challenge themselves to travel to Spearfish Canyon to run a half marathon on July 23rd. Check out our blog!
Here are some of my best stories from running:
** After I'm done with each pair of tennis shoes I nail them to my bedroom wall at home without washing them. Mom absolutely loves this!! Someday I want to bronze my first marathon shoes.
** Sprinklers
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