Me time

Today I ran four miles again. I love how the first mile is the hardest, and when I get to the two mile mark I basically forget that I am running. My breathing and pace settle, and my mind wanders with thoughts about responsibilities, emotions, and life in general. A little after getting two miles in my run, I always look at the tons of Political propaganda posters located in the stretch from Dove to Nolana. I noticed a man putting up a banner for one of the Congressman that are running in he election. I just ran by him, smiled, and waved as I usually do when I pass someone as I'm running. 

On my way back to Dove, I passed by the poster again and he was still there. I noticed that he said something, so I slowed down and removed my headphones. He started talking about some high school coach, assuming I was still in high school (he mentioned I looked really young, and it didn't help that I was wearing one of my old high school shirts). When I told him I went to college, he was really surprised, laughed, and wished me a good run. Running for me has always been something that I do to de-stress and is just the time where I have a lot of time to think. I call it "me time".

The man talking to me about high school made me think back to high school, and my coaches, and soccer, and track, and volleyball. I love sports and have so much fun doing them. A lot of times I wish that I would've taken them seriously in high school, so I could've had the opportunity to play something in college and maybe even professionally. I think of all the opportunities I had, and if I could go back I would do a lot of things differently. However, I realized I really did learn a lot from playing sports in high school. Now, I am able to do things more efficiently. I know little tricks that help me run faster, longer, and not get as tired. I also really enjoy playing volleyball and soccer, even if it is not at a very competitive level. I am grateful that my coaches stressed form, and technique. I remembered, my summer track coach made me sit in front of a mirror holding dumbbells in each hand to improve my running form. I never had the best form for anything really. My running start was always off, but I still managed to get qualifying times in varsity track. My overhand serve in volleyball was a little funky, but I was still able to get it over the net in 6th grade. My swing in tennis made the ball go really high, but I still managed to win the games. My point with all this, is that I feel like I had potential in many sports and if I worked on little things like bettering these details and I put more time into practicing, I could've gotten somewhere in these things. 

It makes me kind of sad and disappointed sometimes, but it helps me work hard and keep my head straight in the things I do today. So in some way, playing sports in high school taught me a lot of things. And that man, that happened to think I was in high school helped me remember and value the lessons life has taught me. This is what usually happens when I run. I take time to just evaluate my life. I take some me time. 

Running with friends

This week I ran with my best friend Sofia. Sometimes it's hard for me to run with other people, when I don't normally run them. Either they run faster than me so I'm killing myself to keep up, or they run slower than me so I have to slow down. Sofia isn't a big fan of running, so in this case I had to slow down for her. I kind of like it in a sense because I get to give her running tips, and I we hold a conversation as we run which keeps me entertained. I also really like knowing she looks to run with me because it lets me know I'm a motivation for her to run. Running with friends is an overall great experience regardless if you can't go at your regular pace. 

Trix for kids

So I used some of my running tricks today. If you've ever ran against the wind, then you know it's so much harder. It really adds a lot of resistance, and it was super windy today. I had a flashback to when I had to run parachutes in high school. This is where they attatch a parachute to you, and you have to run as its pulling you back. It's a really good workout.
So with all the wind, I had to use and old trick I was taught by my middle school cross country coach. Look down at your feet. Whenever it's really windy and you're struggling, just look down. I don't know why, but it lowers resistance and it makes you go faster! Works like magic, try it.

Dogs get out of shape too

I tried to run with Nero my dog today. He is a Schnauzer, so not a very big dog. He used to be able to run four miles, easy! I thought he would be able to run them without a problem because he is a dog, and I don't know why I assumed that dogs have higher stamina than humans. Anyway, it turns out that my lack of running afected him as well, and now we are both out of shape. He stopped for the first time at one mile. We took a two minute break, drank a little water, and started again. I feel like the first break encouraged him to stop more often though, because he started stopping every few hundred meters after that. I felt bad, so I decided to only run two miles with him and even at that, I had to carry him the last fourth of a mile. Poor thing was out of breath. I was kind of excited I could out run my dog, to be honest. Bottom line is, our furry friends get out of shape too.