Beginnings.

Here’s to beginnings.  Last night was another one of those moments.  Let me explain.

It’s easy to get stuck in a mind set.  It seems like every day we are bombarded with ideas and “norms” depending on what we see and hear.  I sometimes imagine life without social media and the internet.  I daydream about a time when  results for races weren’t accessible to just anyone via the web.  You would quietly train for an event, and then go do it without anyone ever knowing you did.

Anonymity.  What a beautiful thing.  (I sometimes run races without my timing chip because that’s not what matters to me.)

And, unless anyone asked about it, no one knew what you did in your free time.  There were people out there killing it with their training, unbeknownst to the rest of the world.  There weren’t youtube videos of people doing 100 milers.  Strava wasn’t around, nor Facebook and Instagram.  You wouldn’t see mileage posted each day.

So, back to that mindset.  Is more really better?  Well, not for everybody.

I thought more was better for a while.  But, I realized, that didn’t make me truly happy.  Not like I wanted it to, at least.  As a result, I stepped outside of that bubble for a bit.  I began to enjoy things more, and to put less pressure on myself.  It started last summer after I did the women’s clinic at the lake.  (See Finding My Why)

A seed was planted…

Last night, I got to feel like that again.  This time with a new adventure.  Our triathlon club has started a run club, and last night was our first official night.  The weather was perfect, which was unbelievable in February.  We had more people show up than I could have imagined for the first night.  And, the best part was that every runner had a different story.  Each person brought something unique.

One person is tapering for a half marathon this weekend.  Another was a top level runner years ago and is just returning to the sport. One runner is training for their very first 5k, in hopes of doing a longer race by fall.  Another runner is just getting started and is looking forward to running with her kids at a race in two months.

I was so happy to just BE there.  To enjoy all of these stories and fresh feelings about the sport of running.  To just be running; not a care in the world but to be in the present.

We all do it for our own reasons, and these reasons matter. A lot.

I feel so fortunate to get to experience this in my life.  To take a moment to back away from the day to day noise, to step into someone else’s new beginnings.  This is what makes us feel alive.

Run happy, Friends.

#runningtruths

Amy is a trail runner and triathlete, a coach, a mother of four, an Exercise Physiologist and a Physical Therapist. She lives with her husband, Dan (also an ultramarathoner and triathlete), and kids in Ohio.