Reverb 10: Body

This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

This year, I started running.

At the beginning of 2010, I started a training program that my friend Julia helped me with.  I enjoyed the first few workouts, but as I progressed, I began to dread the workouts.  It culminated in a race I was supposed to run in April, but a flat tire on the way to Kansas City caused me to miss it.  I took it as a sign from the Universe that I was not meant to be a runner and my training petered out over the summer.

The past few months, I've been feeling the itch again.  I read something on Healthy Tipping Point and it stuck with me, kind of circling the back of my mind.  Caitlin said that she runs to feel alive.  I had really never considered that perspective.  Towards the end of November, I got my running shoes back out and hit the road.

The morning of Thanksgiving was rainy and cold here in St Louis, but I wanted to run anyway.  I went out for a two-miler with my Couch to 10k training app (which I love), and also started up my Nike+ GPS to track my distance.  I jogged a bit, ran a bit, but realized a ways in that my C210k had been paused accidentally.  Once I got it back up and going, the training resumed.  I soldiered on through the drizzle.  At one point, I crossed a driveway just as a family was arriving to presumably go inside for their holiday dinner.  The man cheered me on as I jogged past.  He will never know how that small gesture of acknowledgment and support from a total stranger touched me.  Before I was just a chubby kid plodding through a workout, and afterwords, I felt like a runner.  Even though I was only set to do two miles, I ended up completing a little more than a 5k.  It was absolutely exhilarating.  A workout had never felt that good, and it changed my entire perspective on how running could make me feel.  It was a joy to complete, even with chapped lips, heart-pounding, and muscles burning, it felt amazing to be outside, alive, and aware.

Ever since, I have enjoyed my workouts so much more.  I've stalled out a bit because of the weather, but while we figure out possibly buying a treadmill or joining a gym, I am anxious to get back at it.  I know what Cailtin meant now when she said that she runs to make herself feel alive.  I can't wait to get back at it.

2011 will be my year of miles.  Julia is still a major motivator and one of my biggest cheerleaders.  I'm even signed up for that race in April again, and this time, I'm going to finish it.

(reverb10.com)