Running Revisited

Wednesday I headed out to my first race since the Boston Marathon. Every Wednesday the Mystic Runners host a 5k run around Lake Quannapowitt and finally after many I wills and I’ll do it next weeks, I found myself at the start line with some of my Melrose Boot Camp teammates.

I had sickened a bit of running; the training and the intensity had gotten to me and since the Boston Marathon I’d done little to none. Logging all of those training miles had taken their toll and for a while, I was simply done with the whole running thing. It happens every year for me following the marathon and knowing this makes it bearable, for like the ups and downs of running 26.2 miles, when things are hard it also means around the corner things will get better. Wednesday night, they did.

Running a race isn’t all about the clock, it’s about the whole experience. It’s about engaging in a healthy activity with others. It is about wishing good luck and offering congratulations.  It’s about celebrating what I can do as well as celebrating what others can do too.  But if I didn’t care about my speed I wouldn’t be running on the clock so that is definitely on my mind too.

I was fearful about my first timed run in months. It may not have been my fasted, or smoothest but I’m on my way. The hardest part is starting. If you’ve had that wish to run a race nagging somewhere inside of you, take the leap. You will be glad you did. I know of a friendly and flat 5k nearby with a very pretty course. Interested?