Alas, I'm happy to be getting back into my running routine now that spring is here. Still, I wasn't always a runner. Besides my short stint on the indoor track team my sophomore year of high school, the majority of my life was spent being a hardcore soccer chick. I played soccer since I was five years old, rockin' the coed pee-wee teams in my early years, mid-New Jersey select teams during my middle years and club and high school teams in my later career.When I arrived at Boston University and felt the need to give up my interest in the competitive edge of soccer (BU has a D1 team), I found myself on intramural teams since BU does not support soccer as a club sport. Although I played coed on a number of indoor and outdoor teams and in a few different leagues, my soccer frequency wasn't enough to sustain my athletic drive. This led to my interest in - that's right - running!
I've really learned to love the sport. Besides my recent winter abandonment, I've been running an average of four to five times a week for the past three years and have really loved the results I've experienced. Even with a full college schedule, running keeps me motivated and energized and makes me feel happy and healthy. Running also helped me achieve some noteworthy philanthropic goals as well. Last October, I competed in the 2007 B.A.A. Half Marathon, raising $627 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and finishing in 1:49:36. Running 13.1 miles knowing I helped support an honorable cause was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life, making it worth all the training and preparation.
Running has become an important stable in my life, and something tells me I'll be a runner for a long time to come.What has running/exercising done to improve your life?
2 comments:
I'm right there with you! After high school basketball ended I started running regularly to stay in shape. Now if more than two days go by without a run, I go stir crazy. Congrats on the half marathon.
I also started running after a soccer career that ended with my ignominiously being cut from the team in my Sophomore year of college. I started running on the cross country team the next day in order to stay in shape for soccer but made the switch permanent once I realized that I was a far better runner than a soccer player and found it to be more satisfying as well.
Running is a perfect physical manifestation of the idea that hard work leads to success.
The elite echelon aside, running is one of the most egalitarian pursuits in which one can engage. If you put the work/miles in, you will get faster.
Some friends are in Boston for the marathon and I kind of regret not joining them. Maybe next year...
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