Run for This
In a loud world, running is quiet solitude.
#amyshereforthis
My alarm sounds, the soft hum of my phone nudging me awake. Bleary-eyed, I reach for the side table to silence the sound before it wakes my husband, Joel. 5:45 am. I stumble out of bed and dress in the dark, pulling on running shorts and a tank top over my head then shuffle down the hall to brush my teeth. By the time I reach the bottom of the stairs and grab my shoes from the shelf near the door, I am starting to wake. A moment later, the slight beep of my watch signals that it’s time to go. I slip out the front door, leaving my sleeping family behind and take a deep breath for the first time since I rolled out of bed. My bright blue shoes fall into a rhythm on the sidewalk and my body leads me down quiet streets toward the park. It was hard to pull myself from bed, but now that I am out here awake in a city that’s still sleeping, I am happy. I love running.
Running is a funny hobby, because the most common reaction I get when I share how much I love it is for people to then tell me how terrible it is.
“I hate running.” “If I never ran again in my life, I’d be happy with that!” “Running is awful.” “I could never do that.” “Why do you run? Is someone chasing you?” “I still hate running.”
Cool. Thanks for that.
Imagine if you were super into painting and I went into detail about my extreme distaste for brushes and canvases. It would be weird, right? Like instead, I could just say “That’s a great painting. I’m so glad you like painting.”
Anyway.
Despite all this overwhelmingly *supportive* feedback I receive, I still run.
I love running for many reasons. When I am out for a run by myself, the rhythmic repetition of my steps allows my mind to wander and think more clearly. Running, especially early in the morning, is one of the few quiet things I do. I also love to run for communal reasons. Once or twice a week, I meet up with friends for an early run at Tower Grove Park. It’s so fun to start the day together and catch each other up on our lives. Doing hard things together (like exercise) strengthens relationships and builds trust in a cool way. Another reason running is great is because I can easily do it with my kids too. We often load our kids in the double stroller and head to the park for a family run. When Joel was out of town for a week in July, I was able to keep to my running routine in part due to friends and family helping with childcare, but also because I would run with my kids. This one gets bonus points too because people in the park generally find you pretty impressive for running with 80 pounds worth of children in a double stroller. And clearly I’m looking for more positive running-related feedback.
“people in the park generally find you pretty impressive for running with 80 pounds worth of children in a double stroller.”
#amyshereforthis
In the dumpster fire that is current events, running has remained reliable. Plans were cancelled, everything shifted, but shoes still waited faithfully by the front door so I kept lacing them up 3-5 times a week. In a loud world, running is quiet solitude. It is a moment to be by myself and do something for myself.
St. Louis is such a great place to run, too. There’s nothing better than seeing the sun come up over the Roman Pavilion in Tower Grove Park or watching the city come alive from the Forest Park running path. Running along the top of the Compton Hill Reservoir gives a fun view of the Arch and a jog past La Patisserie Choquette in the early morning rewards you with the smell of fresh croissants baking. We have so many great parks and neighborhoods that are lovely on foot. Also, it’s worth mentioning that a couple of weeks ago, a man yelled “nice form!” from his moving vehicle while I was running down South Grand and I think he was actually serious. I have been working on my form so thank you for noticing, sir!
St. Louis is such a great place to run.
#amyshereforthis
Normally, races set the tone for my running routines, determining goals and weekly mileage. With no races to prep for in the near future, I’ve had to find some other things to work toward.
The highlight of COVID-times running for me has been a virtual event hosted by Fleet Feet this summer called the Run The Missouri challenge. The premise was to run 371 miles in the span of June 1-October 31, to mirror Lewis and Clark’s journey across the state along the Missouri River. As you log miles, you can see how far you’ve made it on the journey in an interactive map. As I’m writing this, I’ve run 281 of the 371 miles, placing me on the map in De Witt, Missouri, some town I’ve never heard of but is apparently around 90 miles west of Kansas City. This challenge has been a fun way to motivate myself to log miles and I’ve enjoyed checking in to see how far along the trip from St. Louis to Kansas City I’ve run. If this sounds fun to you too, you’re in luck because The Return Journey begins in just a couple of weeks, where you can log miles to travel back from Kansas City to St. Louis. I’m a little jealous of this one because the t-shirts look pretty cool. It’s been fun to see what different race organizers and running clubs have come up with the make things interesting in these strange times. Races might not be happening as usual, but runners are still running and I’m so glad.
So there you have it, my love letter to a hobby that many people publicly despise. I feel like myself when I run, which is a gift in this tumultuous season. If I made running sound like fun even the tiniest, bit, would you let me know? Or better yet, join me one morning.
“Take it from Elle Woods (and me) and go get those endorphins.”
#amyshereforthis
Remember that scene in Legally Blonde when Reese Witherspoon really touts the benefits of endorphins? “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
I don’t know, just something to think about. Take it from Elle Woods (and me) and go get those endorphins.
(I would like you to know that I spent considerable time trying to figure out how I could title this post some sort of pun involving my name, the name of this blog, and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. “Amy, you were born to run?: Boring. “Amy, you’re here for run?” That doesn’t make sense. You’re probably catching on to why the title is just “Run for This.”
Anyway, baby, you were born to run.)