You never really realize how much you love running until you can longer do it. You take it for granted that you have the ability to run whenever you want and that it’s a choice that you have every single day. When you are sidelined by an injury or, in my case, illness (cold) it helps put things in perspective. I often complain about waking up at 5:00 AM on a Saturday morning to run for miles and miles in the Texas heat. But, this past weekend when I lay wide awake at 5:00 in the morning, staring at the ceiling, I wanted nothing more than to hop out of bed, put on my running shoes, and run. I didn’t care that I only felt about 70% or that I was severely congested. I just wanted to get up and go. It wasn’t just that I was about to miss a very important run, but I was also missing out on something that has become a way of life. I suddenly felt incomplete. It was then that I realized my relationship with running is similar to Sammi and Ronnie’s relationship on the Jersey Shore. Keep in mind, I was half asleep.
I am sure you are asking if I really just referenced the Jersey Shore. I don’t watch it – I swear! I have seen a few episodes when nothing was on. Please, trust me on this. Anyway, my relationship with running is the tumultuous relationship that is Sammi and Ronnie. It’s a love/hate, can’t live with you/can’t live without you, thing. When I am on a run I sometimes hate it. I question why I do it and why I even started in the first place. It sometimes causes me pain and it is often exhausting. I talk about breaking up with it and never doing it again. But, then I stop running and I miss it. I miss the craziness of it all and how we are somehow meant for each other. If I’m sick or injured everyone tries to stop me from running, but I refuse, because I need it. I want it. I can’t explain why, but I do. When something like a cold forces me and running into an unexpected break I almost don’t know how to function without it. Therein lays the unfortunate similarity to Sammi and Ronnie of “Jersey Shore,” albeit with a lot less dysfunction. I apologize for the reference to “Jersey Shore.” I blame it on my cold that is likely causing me to be a bit delirious. Forgive me.
Running has seriously become an important part of my life. It is impossible to imagine my life without it. Missing out on my 10 mile training run on Saturday was demoralizing. I considered running the 10 miles in attempt to defy my cold, but I managed to come to my senses when I realized I really couldn’t breathe out of my nose. Although the decision to not run was difficult, it was necessary in order to ensure I regain my health. With an important training day (or two) lost, I have to make sure that I remain focused. I am on the mend from my cold and I intend to make up for the lost miles. I know there will be some ups and downs along the way and times when I will surely hate running, but I also know I will mostly love it. I can’t say the same for the Jersey Shore. Actually, that’s a mostly hate thing.
Running On Empty 