My Biggest Running Secret

The other day I was talking to a friend that I haven't seen in a while, and she made a comment about me running "all the time." I realized that she'd gotten this impression from my blog and social media posts. I had to clarify things a bit because I don't want people to get the wrong idea. In truth, I typically run once a week and usually only three miles (though the last two weeks I did six - once on accident because I was trying to avoid a man in a Honda who may or may not have been attempting to kidnap me, and once on purpose because it was Thanksgiving and gratitude makes me run far).

So "all the time?"

No.

More like "sometimes."

But I don't think I should have to use #onlytimethisweek any time I post something about running. In all honesty, the reason I post anything at all on Instagram or Facebook about running is because I usually take a few pictures while I'm out so I can enjoy God's beautiful earth, like so:

 

Remember how art makes ugly things beautiful? Well, running can be a very ugly practice, so I try to make it better by focusing on the beauty of nature and the lyrics to "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Coming clean to my friend about my infrequent running made me realize there's more I need to confess about running.

Remember how I said it can be ugly?

Sometimes, it's really ugly. Sometimes I'm out there trying to keep my legs moving, and I get angry, and I just give up. Sometimes I just want to sit down on the sidewalk and wait for my family to come searching for me, but that would take a few hours, so I walk home. When I'm heading home in defeat, sometimes I have to pass other runners. I don't want them to know that I'm a quitter, so as I move toward them, I pump my arms and march a little so that, from far away, I appear to be running. Then when I get close enough to see detail, I start actually running. Then I do the friendly, "we are friends because we are both running" wave, and I stop running as soon as we pass each other.

Maybe I get caught sometimes by strangers, but I know for a fact that I pulled this stunt off flawlessly on one of my friends. A few weeks after I did "the stunt," my friend and I were at a neighborhood event, and we were talking about how we were having a hard time getting back into running after having our last babies. Then she said, "But you were rocking it the other day!"

And I was like, "Yep."

But in my defense, I haven't pulled the stunt since July, so if you've seen me running since then, it was legit!