Marathon Monday- Why Do I Run?

After being accepted to the NY Marathon, participants can make a badge which states why they run. There are pre-made ones or you can make your own. This was a great time to reflect for me as well as think ahead and start making goals for myself through this marathon training process.
I chose a pre-made badge for myself that simply stated, "I run because I can." This is such a simple message but pretty deep at the same time.
Sundays are my long run days. While I am not truly training yet, I am aware of what is to come and am trying to get my body and mind ready for it. My Sunday run was a 6 mile loop in the wind. While I was running, I started out enjoying the beauty of the sunrise and the chill in the air. I took in all of my surroundings and really enjoyed the quietness and stillness that set over the rolling hills. My mind was pretty clear through the first half of my run.
As I turned a corner the wind picked up and I really had to push and run my hardest to move at all against the wind. At this point, I realized why I run. I run because it is something I do for myself. There are no other pressures or standards but my own. I am only competitive with myself and I am only running against the elements of the weather and the terrain. I can use the weather and the terrain as symbols for my challenges in my life and can physically confront them and push through them.
This week I enjoyed every step of every run every day. I enjoyed my short runs, fast runs, my hill runs, and my long run. While asking myself why do I run, it's because I can.
I didn't grow up playing sports. I wanted to be a part of a team so in high school I became a runner. Why did I join the cross country team? Because I could. I could put one step in front of the other and move. I remember my cross country coach telling me as long as only one foot is on the ground at a time, you are running. I wasn't a great runner. I never one or race or placed but I ran and enjoyed it.
 My father was a runner. I felt that running would  bring us closer. It could be a shared accomplishment.
After high school, I stopped running. I never really missed it. It was always work. When I met my husband, he pushed me to pick it back up. I signed up for a few races and ran them. I was never a competitive runner though. I ran because it was something I could do.  After every baby, I ran a big race before I could get pregnant with the next. This was just a goal and challenge for myself. I ran to finish and to run the entire race. This was enough for me.
After having Tate, I lost running for awhile. I wanted something different so I started lifting. I lifted because it gave me a sense of accomplishment and I could see the results and work in my body.
Three years later, I find myself back here to running. I wake up and love to start my days with runs. I also love to end long hard days with runs. Sometimes I even do both. Why am I doing it? Because I can.
As I look ahead to the marathon in November, I will run because I can. My goal will be to enjoy every step of the race, to truly take it all in, and do the best that my body and mind are able to do.