Love it or hate, does not matter cause I will still do it

I love the idea of running.  I love lacing up my sneakers and heading out into the early morning light.  The way I feel after a long run is pleasantly exhausting.  My excuse for an afternoon nap curled up in the sunny warmth of our office.  It's the one form of exercise that keeps my weight stable and allows me to eat my favorite foods.  I enjoy the paths that I travel and running makes you an accidental tourist in your own backyard.  I like having a list of races coming up that we are going to take part in.  It's a unique group of people and it's nice to see that running has become such a popular activity.  It doesn't take a lot of talent just a little will and dedication.

But in all honesty I hate running.  I hate how sore my IT bands get in my legs.  I hate the opens sores that develop on my back where my sports bra decides it should rub up and down rather than stay in place.  I don't get this supposed runner's high.   Never do I feel like I hit a point that I could go on forever.  It's a myth, it has to be!  I slog through my training runs cursing that fact that I have signed up for another race.

Yet it has become something that defines who I am.  I like getting out in the fresh air and having an hour just to let everything go.  It's actually a great stress reliever.  I do it to stay in shape for the other activities I enjoy.  Firefighting demands a lot of aerobic effort and I need that strength when the tones come in.  I do not know how out of shape firefighters do it.  It would literally kill me.  Though I do keep up with statistics and do know that firefighters die every day due to cardiac events and so all the more reason to hit the pavement.

So I will lace up the old running shoes and out the door I go.  In search of the elusive runner's high, in search of serenity, and in search of why others like this so much!  And I'll do it because I have a half marathon in 5 weeks and in all honesty I'll run because I do not want to become a statistic!