Things I never thought I would do

If you asked my family, Drew, or good friends to describe me I know one thing they would all say.  I don't like to be dirty.  My mom always says that I did not like to touch the grass when I was little.  Not much has changed since then.  I don't play in mud.  I don't even like when my kids play in mud.  I don't like to be dirty at all.  Don't misunderstand...I like to be outside playing, but getting dirty is not my thing.   Probably something else they would all say is that I like to sleep.  I have always been a sleeper.  I also like to eat as soon as I get up.  This is another little thing that my mom likes to say about me....open eyes and insert spoon.

Then I decided to become a runner and something had to give.  I realized very quickly that I would be challenged to step outside my comfort zone in so many ways.  In the past almost three years, I have...

1.  Run in the rain.  I still hate to be wet, but sometimes it just has to be done.
2.  Stepped in huge muddy patches of grass and continued to run in gross shoes.
3. Woken up at 4:30 am more than once to get in a run before my little people wake.
4.  Been so nasty dirty after a run I offended myself.

Running is such a funny thing.  So many people just think it is a form of exercise that will ruin your knees.  Exercise it is.  But, it is so many other things that I never thought it would or even could be.  Running has challenged me to the core of who I am and what I want to be.  Running has forced me to see the ugly in me and the good in me.  Running has helped me be a better person....a person who is still growing and evolving for the better.   Running has brought me to my knees in weakness.  I have also smiled some of my biggest smiles when running.  That is all outside though.

Inside my house, running makes me calmer...sometimes.  I definitely think I am a better mommy because of running.  Nothing is as hard as running.  Being a mommy just seems so much easier than a 20 mile run.  I think everyone is happier when I have run. 

I find it funny how one decision...mostly a spur of the moment decision...has changed so many things in my life for the better.  I am embracing these changes in me and using them as motivation to continue on this journey.