TOP 5 Reasons Why I Run

I’ve been running for as long as I can remember.  Tag as a little kid, cross country  in elementary school, soccer all through my youth and running for leisure since I was 18 (and I’m 25 now, so you do the math).

Over the course of my “running career”, I can honestly say I’ve been pretty consistent with my jogs. Even when it gets cold or I get busy or my body gets sore, I normally manage to muster up enough motivation to hit the pavement.

Why you ask!??

That’s easy.  Running is my therapy, and here’s 5 reasons why:

1. HOT BODY – No I don’t mean sexy body (although I do think running can have positive effects on appearance – but that will be another post).  I actually mean increased body temperature! I read somewhere that the heat one generates from exercise can produce effects similar to sitting in a hot tub or sauna.  Physical relaxation, inner calmness, tension release.

2. CATHARSIS – Which means the the purging of emotions. Something about pounding the pavement and breaking a sweat allows me to release bottled up emotions; from stressful situations, fights with loved ones or even just general feelings of anger, sadness or melancholy that exist for whatever reason (or no reason at all).

3. LET LOOSE – I’m not going to lie.  When my music is blaring (usually country tunes or cheesy pop songs) I become a total diva – singing dancing and rocking out on a stadium stage in front of a crowd of 60,000 screaming fans.  Seriously!  If you can’t relate, then you’re missing out! Update your ipod and when you run, you’ll put on a show!

4. A HAPPY PLACE – So my runs aren’t always rock concerts. When I’m feeling more subdued, I use my runs to let my mind run wild.  I think about the future, the past, my family, my good experiences, my bad experiences, people I love, people I hate, embarrassing situations, amazing situations – you get my drift.  Running is a perfect time to let yourself totally zone out. Heck, I’ve even been known to have a good cry when I’m running!

5. CONFIDENCE – “Going for a run gets you accustomed to doing things you thought you could not do…”

Not too long ago I saw this affirmation on John Stanton’s Twitter feed and I realized a huge part of why I run, is to gain the confidence to chase my dreams – which are unrelated to running.  If I can complete the half marathon or run that 10 K in under 50 minutes, then surely I can rock the interview to land my dream job, or I can speak up in a meeting when I actually want to hide under the table or I can move to an unfamiliar city to start an unfamiliar job – all on my own.

I CAN DO ANYTHING! 😮