Running to Win

I have always been a very competitive person. You can ask anyone who knows me--even those who would only call me an acquaintance--and they will tell you that I thrive on competition. I think I had that personality trait even before I started participating in sports as a kid. I was always trying to be better than someone else at something. Before sports, it was memorizing Bible verses. (Yeah, can you imagine me in kindergarten saying all my verses and then doing the Heisman pose? Seriously, I won a trophy for this--the Bible verse memorization, not the Heisman pose. I still have it.) After a few years, basketball entered my life. It was all down hill from there. I became pretty competitive in most areas of my life from that point on.

So here I am. I haven't played competitive basketball in 8 years (that almost makes me want to cry just typing that). I haven't really head coached a team since I almost had the Straightforward Son at a volleyball tournament. (Actually, it was just Braxton Hicks, but it felt pretty bad.) I now am a self-employed stay-at-home mom with no competitive outlet--except my kid is better

than your kid (and I try not to do that, even though the Straightforward Kids are AWESOME). Not only was my drive to find something in which I could compete making me batty, but my marriage was taking a hit too. Arguing with the Straightforward Dad was one of those ways I could compete with someone. At that point, I realized I needed something else to take the brunt of my competitive nature.

I decided to become a "longer" distance runner. I say "longer" because I am known for my passion for not running. I can sprint till the cows come home, but don't ask me to run any further than about .2 miles. I am not even sure I would run very far if I were chased--sad, I know. I even believe that my college basketball coach made us run the two miles at the beginning of the year, just to see if I would quit. However, I desperately needed something. It had to be challenging and something that would push me to beat it. I decided distance running would do the trick.

I started a few months ago. Running two days a week, I tried to run a little a further each time. I have finally made it to a little over two miles. (For those of you who are laughing at me, remember, I said "longer" distance.) The last two weeks, I have not been able to run for various reasons. Today, I made it a point to get back out there.

I started off real strong. I was really kicking it. As I headed up the last hill to start lap two, the bottom fell out. My hip, knee, and even my brain started screaming at me. I kept running. Lap two was murderous. I seriously think I am out of alignment or something. My time slowed drastically, but I was determined not to quit. Believe it or not, I finished. At the end, I felt like I was going to pass out, but I was so proud of myself for not quitting. It was the worst time I have had since I started. (And that is saying a lot since I came home with monster blisters once!)

For all you moms out there who need an outlet, you should definitely give running a try. I cannot say that I love it--in fact, I hate it. BUT, it pushes me to be better. It has also taken inches off a body that has had two babies in the last 3 years. I am not losing weight as quickly as I would like, but it's nice to see the inches go away. It also gives me about 25 minutes or so that I can listen to what I want without someone yelling my name, wiping a butt that is not mine, or look at one billion things that I "should" be doing.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. My goal is to get to 5 miles per run. Once I do that, I will start working on reducing my time. I might even run a 5K! Right now, I am so proud of my two miles, I almost made myself a certificate to go right next to my kindergarten Bible verse trophy.