My mother made me participate in some kind of sport every school year. At first, I wasn’t too happy about this. I had chosen Track and Field during Middle School, and it was exhausting running the long distance events. Once I became a freshman in High School, I decided to switch events and give pole vaulting a try. Just for the record, it was the best decision ever. There was less running and more flying.
However, the next school year, I was involved in a car accident. This accident has left me with chronic back pain, which has prevented me from resuming pole vaulting. Instead I was advised to keep running. The best thing for my back was to keep those muscles warm and loose, something that running and stretching would help with.
Since I wasn’t very good at motivating myself to run each day, I decided to take a jogging class. That way, my GPA would depend on me running. This certainly got me into the habit of exercising. The more I ran, the less I dreaded it and the more I looked forward to it. Rain or shine, I was out there every morning.
Those workouts, which got harder each day, truly taught me a lot about myself. I’ve learned that taking the time to motivate myself to go on a run is less effective than just tying on my shoes and going out the door. I’ve learned that I’m fairly good at pushing myself to keep going and finish that last mile. I’ve learned running can be more fun when you have a buddy to do it with. I’ve also learned that running can help calm and clear my mind from stress and worries.
Even though the class has been long over and I’ve already graduated, I still continue to run. I never thought that I could learn so much about myself just by running. Despite the things that have happened to get me to where I am today, I’m thankful for them.
The farthest I’ve ran is a 5K and my new goal is to a run a half marathon. I’m excited to train with my best friend, Samantha and take on this new goal.
