gratitude: day 12

today i'm grateful for running.

i'm not fast. i'm not naturally adept. my form is atrocious. i basically look ridiculous when i run. my shoulders hunch {i'm workin' on it}, my knees twist and my legs flare. and sometimes i feel horrendous when i do it. but, i love it.

{beautifully sweaty maren at mile 8 of the nyc marathon november 2008}

it's such a great release. a needed one.

and it gives me energy.

like this morning, when i had had less than 5 hours of sleep, i met a friend to run at 5:30am. that's early. and i felt it. i nearly fell back asleep after debating whether or not i should really get out of bed...but i didn't. i got up. i got dressed. and i ran. and 5.6 miles later, i felt great. it was a perfect way to start my day. and i'm pretty sure if i had gone back to bed, i might not have survived this far into today.

i have great friends to run with. it's time to catch up on each others' lives. share our sorrows and joys. and just get our own time outside the house. my friends help push me physically and i've done things i never thought i could do {ahem, marathon} because of them.

there are days {sorry, friends} when i just need me time. all by myself. alone. i've had some of the greatest runs of my life all by my lonesome. i ran my first-ever 16 miler by myself. i still remember some of the things i thought about, some of the songs i listened to, some of the things i saw.

my health has improved because of running.

my confidence has increased because of running.

my relationships have been blessed because of running.

i'm sane {well, sort of} because of running.

i'm grateful for running.