Tag Archives: runner

Letter to my Shin. No, seriously.

Dear Shin Splint,

Ok, we need to talk.

I’ve managed to run for almost a year now without ever knowing what the heck you even were. And I was fine with that. I heard people talk about you. Heard a lot about you actually. Heard you were a troublemaker. Heard you were hard to beat. But I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting you yet. I guess I figured you were too busy bothering everyone else to have time to visit me.

Ok, so I was wrong.

(That’s happened maybe once before in my life. Ok, twice.)

But let me explain something to you. I have no better way of saying this than to borrow some words of wisdom from none other than the great contemporary philosopher, Beyonce:

“You must not know bout me.”

Do you have any idea how important running is to me? And how intent I am upon continuing to do it? Psssh, dude, you can’t even touch my level of determination. Many before you have tried. My right knee is laughing at you as we speak. He has been trying to stop me from Day 1, and he knows he doesn’t stand a chance. My brain? Whew. That chick has you beat all day, every day, and twice on Tuesday. She has told me SO many times that I’m not good enough to do this. That I’m not strong enough, that I’m not “this” enough, that I’m not “that” enough. She has absolutely begged me at times not to get out there and run. But nope. Even She hasn’t succeeded.

Because I have something that overpowers all of you.

My Heart.

Oh, honey, let me tell you about my Heart. That girl is fierce. She has taken a beating, been ripped in two, and has some mornings felt so heavy inside me that I felt like I couldn’t even get out of bed, much less go for a 4-mile run. But no matter how exhausted, sad, and lonely She may be, She always – without fail – manages to whisper in my ear, “We can do this.”

“Get up. Get out there. WE can do this.”

And even with her little whisper, she speaks more loudly than you or any of your other troublemaker friends can even imagine. She is who I choose to listen to. She never ever lets me down. She’s strong. She’s tough. She’s unstoppable.

So, I’m going to keep running. See this?

This kind of thing is just too good for me to pass up. You tag along if you want to, but you’re not going to stop me. It’s too late for me to turn back now. I’m in this for the long haul.

Hey – nice try, though.

Sincerely,

Running is Hard Enough Without Your Help, Go Away

***

“Find a place inside where there’s joy,
and the joy will burn out the pain.”
Joseph Campbell

Posted by Melissa Edmondson. Categories: Freestyle Writings/Musings, Running. Tags: blog, heart, inspiration, inspirational, motivation, motivational, passion, photos, Quotes, runner, running, writing. 2 Comments

Mar. ’13

Stronger

This is the back of the shirt that my son and I got at a 5k race we ran in this morning in honor of Leigh Cooper Wallace, a local hero who passed away a few months ago from complications resulting from pneumonia. As the race director described it, this was a race “in memory of her compassion and generosity, her service to this community, her incredible strength, her support of young athletes, and her encouragement for all people to pursue a healthy lifestyle.” They put together this first annual race to honor the “incredible example she set, so that we may continue to live life as fully as she did.”

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Leigh Cooper Wallace personally, but I can’t help but be influenced by the example she set. She went through a lot in her short lifetime (most notably being that she was a kidnap/rape survivor), and she used her story to teach others to become fighters – to not let circumstances defeat you, no matter how tempting it might be to give up.

I couldn’t help but be aware of the timing of this race for me personally.

Although I am doing great and getting tougher every day, I do still have my moments. I’ve had a rough couple of months. I’ve lost more than one friend to various circumstances, including my very best friend who I miss every single day, and that’s not something that is very easy to bounce back from. But I’ve been trying. And as part of the trying, I’ve been pushing myself harder with my running. If you’re not a runner, it’s hard to explain to you what running does to you. I know there’s something chemical to it – endorphins and whatnot. But it’s more than that. So much more. It’s a way to measure your ability to endure. To teach yourself not to give up just because things start getting a little tough – but to push through. Push through. Even when you think you can’t keep going, you can. Yes, there are going to be tough spots and yes, you may have to allow yourself to slow down a little to make it. But you will make it. Push through. Endure. Stay strong.

So, not only did I proudly run today with those thoughts in my mind, but I managed to achieve my own personal record. I’m not a fast runner, by any stretch of the imagination, but I was a lot faster today than the old me ever was. I managed to fall under the 30-minute mark and ran the race in 29:42. It has been my goal for a very long time to break 30 minutes and I did it today – on one of of the toughest 5k courses I’ve ever run.

So, how about that? Here I am. My first race in this “new life” and I’m starting off with a bang.

Turns out I really am stronger than I think. Thank you for the reminder, Leigh.

***

“As I get older I see that running has changed for me. What used to be about burning calories is now more about burning up what is false. Lies I used to tell myself about who I was and what I could do, friendships that cannot withstand hills or miles, the approval I no longer need to seek and solidarity that cannot bear silence. I run to burn up what I don’t need and ignite what I do.”
~ Kristin Armstrong

*Note: Here’s a link if you’d like to read more about what an amazing woman Leigh Cooper Wallace was:

http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/News/story/Local-runner-coach-Leigh-Wallace-dies-id-009923

Posted by Melissa Edmondson. Categories: Freestyle Writings/Musings, Running. Tags: 5k, blog, change, changed, dating, friendship, health, heartbreak, inspiration, inspirational, loss, love, motivation, motivational, passion, photos, Quotes, race, relationships, runner, running, son, writing. Leave a comment

Mar. ’13

Secret Weapon

“Our running shoes are really erasers. Every step erases a memory of a past failure. Every mile brings us closer to a clean slate. Each foot strike rubs away a word, a look, or an event that led us to believe that success was beyond our grasp.”
– John Bingham

Today is March 1. The beginning of the dreaded month of March. *Sigh*

March and I have issues that go way back. For some reason, it seems that notable negative things always seem to happen in my life in this particular month. And every year I brace myself once again for what seems to inevitably be in store for me. And even if nothing in particular ends up happening, the awful month still looms there, filled with unwanted anniversaries from the past.

But not this year. This year is different. This year I have a secret weapon. Or, as John Bingham likes to call them – erasers.

This March, I’m a runner.

I started running in April of last year, so March will be the end of a full year of running. I hate to sound like I’m patting myself on the back here, but I am so freakin’ proud of me. As someone who has very little patience, running has taught me that the best things sometimes really do take time. I, like most people, want what I want and I want it NOW. That is not an option in running. Running requires patience. In fact, it demands it. It’s an endless process of slow, arduous transformation. And the more I run, the more I realize that process doesn’t just apply to my leg muscles. It’s a transformation of your mind. It’s a realization that you really are capable of great things, if you’ll only put forth the time and effort required. Little by little, day by day.

“Running is about the slow and painful process of being the best you can be. That’s why the first step out the door is always so hard. That’s when we choose between settling for average and being a superhero version of ourselves.”
– Martin Dugard

I didn’t realize it at the time, but in April of 2012, I made the choice to be a superhero version of myself. And I continue to make that choice over and over again every time I lace up.

So, you know what? Bring it on, silly ol’ March. There’s nothing you can do to me anymore. I’m a superhero now.

“My runs always remind me of what life is; always putting one foot in front of the other, even when I’m exhausted. It’s about running up the hill, however daunting, and congratulating myself for not stopping. Life, like running, is about getting up and pushing on ahead, even if I’ve tripped on a pothole. It’s about keeping the rhythm and setting a pace. It’s about minding my injuries and allowing myself time to heal, but not letting injuries get the best of me. Running is like life; it is a glorious, albeit sometimes painful, act of always moving forward.”
– Luci L. Creery

Posted by Melissa Edmondson. Categories: Freestyle Writings/Musings, Running. Tags: blog, change, inspiration, inspirational, motivation, motivational, Quotes, runner, running, writing. Leave a comment

Feb. ’13

Uphill Both Ways

“When I was your age, we had to walk to school uphill both ways…”
– Every Older Person There Ever Was

Yesterday I ran a route that I’ve been wanting to run ever since I started running. There hasn’t been much of a reason why I haven’t done it yet. At first, I wasn’t ready for it (physically or mentally); then I wanted to wait for a special occasion on the calendar (all of which came and went); then it was Winter, etc. etc. etc. Not sure why I put it off as long as I did. But yesterday, without even any true destination in mind, I put my running clothes on, hopped in the car, and just drove. I ended up here:

This is the house that is still standing in the Potato Creek community in Virginia, where my grandpa was born and raised. He passed away in February of last year.

He wasn’t much of a talker when he was with us. Very quiet – filled with secrets. But my grandmother filled in the gaps. Through her, I’ve heard about the house he grew up in and have learned about the hilly path he had to walk on to school and back and everyday. I’ve driven this path many times, but ever since I became a runner, I have always wanted to run it. It’s not that far to me now (a little more than four miles), but when I first started running, I knew I wasn’t ready for that distance. And distance wasn’t really the issue anyway. Holy crap, is that thing hilly! But I kept telling myself that one day I would be ready to run it. Turns out, yesterday was the day.

This may have been one of my favorite runs ever. It may sound crazy, but a part of me felt like my Pa-Paw was actually running with me. I’m not sure he cared for the Kelly Clarkson, Pink, and Cee Lo Green that was busting out of my headphones, but nonetheless, I think he kept up. In fact, I think he probably passed me a few times. Especially on those dang hills! Did I mention there were hills? (From now on, when an older person tells me they walked uphill to school both ways, I’m not questioning that statement. I just found out for myself!)

But man, were those hills beautiful. The whole route was beautiful. For a little less than an hour, I stopped thinking, stopped feeling, stopped obsessing, and just ran with my grandpa.

The old school that he went to is no longer standing. From what I understand, it burned down years ago (long after it was no longer used as a school and was just being used as a barn for local farmland). After the run, I went and looked at the area a little and this was the only remnants of the school that I found:

Here’s a view of the whole area where the school stood:

And still standing (and still in operation on occasion) just beside the old school land is the church that he attended – Potato Creek Church. Such a beautiful old place that holds many many memories, I’m sure.

And since I’m sharing pictures, I have to share one last one. Now, I can’t remember – did I mention that this run was hilly? HOLY COW, it was hilly. And at one point, I kid you not, I saw something painted on the road that cracked me up. I’m convinced that someone else before me tried to run this thing and happened to be carrying a can of spray paint along with them on thier run:

I feel ya, fellow runner. That’s exactly how I felt too!

So, anyway, this blog is not going to be like most of my others. I usually try to wrap up with some type of life lesson that I’ve learned from some experience. But nope. Not this time. I just wanted to tell you about a run with my grandpa that I finally took the time to do. A run where I cleared my mind, appreciated the scenery, traveled back in time in my mind to try to experience what it had been like for my ancestors before me. You know – just took a break from everything else and appreciated who I was and where I came from.

Hmmm. Maybe there’s a life lesson to be learned in this after all.

Thanks for the run, Pa-Paw.