I Am A Runner

It’s been 12 days since I went after 11 miles and my Achilles was so sore I couldn’t walk.  Tonight after a short bike ride I decided to give running a shot again.

It’s a weird feeling when you’re off for a while.  You lose almost every ounce of confidence.  I really almost thought that I’d forgotten how to run, and was sure my ankles would be mush.

So, before I went outside I went through a series of self-suggestion exercises convincing myself that I am a runner.  In the past I have declared that “I am NOT a runner,” but this shit is getting serious and I have to get my head straight within three weeks.

I said it over and over out loud.  “I am a runner.”  “I am a runner.”  “I am a runner.”

My dog was looking at my like she thought I was crazy, so I started telling her, too.

“Mattie, I am a runner . . .”  “Daddy is a runner!”

She wagged her tail in that sort of half-happy/half-confused kind of way, then I through her a treat.

I slowly opened the door, gingerly went down the steps, hit my watch and started to jog.

I swear, every time I run I forget that the first mile is just going to feel weird.  And it did and I kinda panicked.

“Shit, I’m screwed.  How will I ever run a marathon?”

But I kept on, and while my plantar fasciitis hurt, my Achilles seemed fine.  After a mile, it started feeling pretty good.  Then I started feeling a different pain in the top of my foot and just started laughing.

Like we have to do, I fought through it and by the time I hit my 20 minute goal I was nice and warm and relatively pain free.

So, I guess I’m in a running mood tonight . . . and why not, “I am a runner.”

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Here’s a video I shot for the Middle Half Marathon in Murfreesboro.  It turned out pretty good and has a couple shots of Canadian badass Lanni Marchant.