Lost & Found

I was introduced to running in 1991 by my dear friend, Christy Nielsen Hardman. She came to get me each morning the summer before our senior year of high school to go running along the canal road. I hated it. Christy was clearly enjoying the experience... but for me, the combination of total physical exertion and early morning did not equate to a fun time. Imagine my surprise when by the end of the summer... I was hooked. I had finally pushed past the wall that labeled running as "torture" and found it to be a completly exhilarating experience. Christy and I ran a half marathon around 2000 and I trained for and ran the Saint George Marathon in 2005 with my Aunt Jeanie. Ironically, training for the marathon was so grueling, that I lost the joy of running and found myself completing my daily runs simply so I could accomplish the greater goal of completing the marathon and not because I loved it.

I am sorry to say it took 2 full years of removing running almost entirely from my exercise regime before I found the desire to run again. Now, I am loving it again. Nothing beats running in the crisp mountain air of winter or during a sunrise in the spring and summer time. I love summer runs in the evening when it cools off. I have favorite running routes in every neighborhood I have ever lived in. Yesterday I ran in the middle of the day up a hill toward the mountains. It was so beautiful and I felt so happy that I had finally found my love of running again.