I like to run, I like, I like to run!

I remember when I was little, I went on a trip to Surfside Water Park with my church. All the other kids raced towards the mile high stairs, rushing to be the first ones down the slides at the top. In my head, I pictured them inside the enclosed slides choking from the water, and praying to get off. I remember standing at the bottom with my mother, watching as kids shot out the bottom disappearing into a tub of water. They'd swim back to the surface laughing with excitement,while I stood with inter-tube in hand... preparing to board the lazy river. I remember when we had about 10 minutes left before we had to leave, I faced my fears and climbed the dreadful steps to the top. After a couple failed attempts, I slowly eased myself down one of the curvy slides. I'm not sure if I made the decision on my own, or if I accidentally fell. However, the slide was AMAZING! I remember being so upset that I missed out on all the fun for the whole first part of the trip. I had wasted all my time drifting down the river, and getting sunburned.


As an adult, I can now compare this feeling to running. Don't get me wrong, I still would love to slide down one of those water coasters, and I would probably enjoy it just as much as I did when I was eight. However, right now... I think of those water slides as the ability to be a runner. All my life... I've hated running. As a kid in elementary school, I was the one who always came in last during the mile. Running terrified me. The only thing I saw with running was... soreness... exhaustion... and total no fun. However, in December I started running with my aunt. I still hated running... for probably the first two weeks. I could only jog about five feet before panting and giving up. However, I've been running for about a month now... and I can honestly say that I LOVE it! In fact, I get disappointed when I don't run, because it feels so GREAT! I LOVE running through the wind... it always reminds me of how Pocahontas must have felt when she was singing on that cliff. So FREE!!! I LOVE running when there is a car blocking the sidewalk... and I have to leap around it... kind of like a super hero. I LOVE running when I dash as fast as I can... and realize I actually went pretty far. It's such a relaxing hobby, that I'm so glad I've found. Hopefully I'll stay with it... but if I ever drift... I can come back to this post and remind myself of how much I like to run.