Marathon Mom: Running ruined my life

Running ruined my life.

A time long ago, I used to be different.

I was a lazy mom going through drive-throughs daily, spending hours in front of the television and always having my house stocked with soda and junk food. I got so much done. I was home all the time, I never wanted to leave.

Then I started running.

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Before running, I didn’t know what the world had to offer or what I was missing out on. I was just going to sit in my chair and scarf down all the junk food I could get and not think twice about it. Damn running.

But, because of running, I never sit still. I am always daydreaming of the next place I want to go, the next race I’m going to run and what adventure is on the horizon.

Running has become a part of who I am.

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Some of the views running has given me

What started out as a girl who could barely walk up stairs without being winded to a girl who signed up for every local 5K race now has evolved into looking for what country has the best race to run or trails to see. Running changed me. I don’t even recognize that old Heather. She’s gone. Now replaced with a woman who is perfectly content ruining brand new shoes running for hours in the woods. It’s hard to really explain to anyone the changes that happened internally and continue to unfold. I don’t even know if I completely understand it. But, I know no matter what’s going in my life or what madness ensues daily, all I have to do is lace up and get away from it all. I can find myself again in those miles and in that time I can decompress. Because running helped me figure out who I am.

I will admit, there are weeks where my runs are squeezed in between a million tasks and become more of a chore than not. There are times when I just don't have a training plan I'm following. I struggle and have struggled since my ultra, trying to figure out where running fits into my life. So many runs this past year have been me searching myself for why I run. Why I still lace up and why I still sign up for races. But, I figured it out. Running is a part of who I am. Running has given me purpose and focus. Running ruined the old Heather, the lazy, boring and mediocre Heather I was before. Running ruined my life. And there is no way I could ever go back.