Picture a grumpy, groggy thirteen year old running in the bleak winter suburbs in freezing weather at 6:00 in the morning. She dragged herself out of her cozy bed to force her body into repetitive drudgery because she felt overweight and lazy. To her, running was something you did when you had done something wrong--like eating too many cookies. Running was a punishment, a boring and unenjoyable chore.
Yep. So that was how I first entered the world of running.
I really, really, really hated it.
Maybe it was because I remembered how effortless maintaining my weight and fitness had been. The time when I could sprint a 5-K and eat dessert without gaining an ounce was still fairly recent when I first started running. Suddenly, I foresaw a life of counting every calorie, working out at the gym every day, and worrying about what would happen if I ate a cookie.
Now picture a fifteen year old, laughing her head off with her brother, pounding down a rocky path and thoroughly enjoying herself. The sky's above her, flowers and grass are below her, and the creek she's grown up swimming in is beside her. Her goal is to run that whole path. She completes it.
That was today.
What happened? What changed? I really don't have a clue. Maybe it's because I happened to grow up between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. I think I realized that you can still be an awesome person and not be model skinny. Anyway, running is definitely not a burdensome chore anymore.
Now, running's a privilege.
Hugs & Blessings,
Izori
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