Injury

Lots of people run, and lots of people call themselves a RUNNER.  However, for many of us, we feel like there is an elite club to which we don't belong.

When I ran my first race since high school, I stopped and looked around and thought "there are my people", I had found my home.  But that's not when I thought of myself as a runner for the first time.
It wasn't when I bought my first shoes or anything like that.  It was when I got injured.

When I become hurt so badly that I couldn't run, I know it was part of me.  I longed to get out and struggle against myself, huff and puff and feel like I was going to die.  I longed to slip into my unflattering running tights and muddy shoes.  I knew at that moment that I need to run.

And the next two months would teach me so much about myself.  I had to find a new outlet to express myself, a new outlet to deal with my emotions and a new outlet to break a sweat.  Thankfully, I was surrounded by people who were supportive of my recovery and I found the best physical therapist.  His name was Steve and he knew about "people like me" who go crazy without working out and quickly designed a program for me to follow that would allow me to feel better mentally, and continue to allow my injury to heal.

Now that I'm on my way to a full recovery I look back and I'm so thankful the injury occurred.  I learned patience.  I learned how strong I was to deal with this.  I learned how much those around me love me and support me.  I learned that physical therapy is harder than any run I will ever go on.

Now I'm a stronger runner because my workouts are more diverse.  I've learned that taking days off are a part of training, not a break from it.  And I now know that unless something drastically changes, I will run the rest of my life.

For all of these things, I'm thankful.