Happy National Running Day!

Yes, in case you were not aware, the first Wednesday in June is designated as National Running Day, a day to celebrate and promote running. Inevitably Wednesday is a swim-bike day in my training rotation, but I don’t need to do a tempo-paced run with a few 100-meter repeats thrown in to celebrate. I can run down the block. Or more likely, sprint from the press box down to the clubhouse to complete my sportswriter duties later today.

I often write in this space about my training, about running half marathons (my distance of choice this year) and workouts that involve progression and pace and track terminology. But really, that’s all stuff to keep me interested, a way to play with running. Because in the end, what running does for me is about so much more than anything which can be found by pouring over race results data.

Running helps me tap into my personal power. It connects me to myself. And you’d be surprised how easy it is to wander away from yourself. It helps me enter the world from a place of confidence and ease, a place that makes sense. It has taught me (and continuously reminds me) that I can do hard things. That I won’t break. That I’m good enough. That I can do more than I thought I could, if only I shut down the gremlins in my mind and listened to my heart instead.

That is why I run.

How about you?