Despite my falling down last week while trail running, I haven’t given up on running; in fact, I’ve actually upped my daily road running to 6 miles and have signed up for my 9th half marathon taking place in November. I’m also going out for a revenge trail run as soon as I post this blog.
Growing up with asthma always had me sitting on the sidelines unable to participate in sports. In college, however, I got fed up watching everybody else running and swimming and biking and being active, so with the help of my doctor, we changed my asthma medications and I began the long road to becoming a runner. It took me a full year (and a lot of encouragement from my parents, who themselves were big runners) to finally complete a mile (it also didn’t help that I went to college in Arkansas where the campus was built on top of a hill. Coming from Kansas, hills were quite a shock to these flat land legs of mine)!
I never gave up though, running my first 10K five years later and my first half marathon 15 years after that. Running is the one thing that I am most proud of, the one thing that I felt like I’ve really conquered and can tick off my to-do list of things to overcome. David doesn’t like it, Meghan flat out refuses to even try and Joe has to run for his Air Force PT requirements (he’s the one I’m holding out hope for to become a runner. He may still grow to like it). When I run in the mornings, I feel like the me I was before I became a wife, mother and a business owner, just Katie, and that’s a wonderful reminder, that clarity, to get back to who I was before I became who I am today.
And about that November race . . . . It’s being held in my hometown of Lawrence, Kansas and Mile 12 runs right by the house I grew up in. I’ve talked my brother into running with me, my mom and Meghan are driving up with me Race Weekend and will be there to cheer Stephen and me on. We’ve planned on a photo op in front of the old house during the race with Stephen and me posing for Meghan while she snaps our pic, Mom jumping into the frame, too. In fact, the three of us have all been strategizing on how to beat my big brother: as soon as the finish line comes into view, I’ll get him to laughing really hard (he goes weak when he gets the giggles), then take off and leave him in the dust.
That’s the plan anyway.
