Turkey Trot

Happy Thanksgiving!

I ran in the Turkey Trot today. 10k - which is just over 6 miles. It has been a few months since I ran a race and I had forgotten how much I love running. I went there to support my step mom, who was running her first ever race. But I left there enthusiastic about my new/old love of running. I'm serious when I say I had forgotten. My memory flushed over me as I took my first step. Chills. A smile that came so naturally, I couldn't hide it.

I don't look like a runner. I don't run fast and my knees are bad. And I'm not as lean as runners are. But I am a runner.

When I started running years ago, I would give myself little silent motivational mantras while I ran. "Put one foot in front of the other". "Just do it". Or my favorite: "I am a runner. It's what I do. I run". I believe that if you can convince yourself you are capable of something, you open yourself up to the possibility of doing something you never would have thought possible. My mantra "I am a runner. It's what I do. I run". Got me thru one marathon, two half marathons, and a ton of smaller races throughout the years.

After a few minutes of running today, I heard a silent voice in my head saying "you are a runner! It's what you do! You run!". I love it.

I stayed with my step mom thru the whole race, despite the urge to break out and just RUN as fast as I could. At one point, I said to step mom, "when we get to the finish line, let's really start to run". To which she replied, "I AM RUNNING". Oh. oops. I thought this was a cool jog.

Today I am thankful for many things. My healthy family, our lovely house, food on the table, our wonderful country. But I'm also thankful for my legs, that helped me run 6 miles this morning. And my heart, that pushed blood thru my body. My lungs, that pulled breath in.

Oh, I should probably mention the changes I made. I'm still doing the 100 day challenge. I've just opened my blog up to write about other things too.

Happy Thanksgiving!!