To live is to run!

I love running. I'm so crazy about running that in high school my IM name was "luvrunnin8"! What a dork! I can't help it though, there's just something about running that makes me feel so alive! It's relaxing, stess-relieving, and basically therapeutic. It makes me feel competitive, even when I'm all by myself. It's like I know what my limits are and I want to prove that I can push beyond them. I like to go until my muscles burn and my joints ache, and then go a little bit faster. While I'm running I love to sort through problems in my head, or write poetry, or just breath in the air. I love how running brings people together too. My very best friends in high school were the girls on my cross country team. I always felt like they understood me. We had the same goals and the same work ethic. Running brought Eric and I together too. I think some of our first "dates" were probably running dates. It was sort of like testing each other out... How fast will he go? Will he let me "win"? Will he challenge me to run farther? He did and he still does! And there's no greater time to see how running brings people together than at a road race! There you're standing... among thousands and thousands of people who you've never met before. And you travel with all of these people along the same path together, just because you all like to run.

Last weekend we ran in the Shamrock 5K in downtown Baltimore. The race followed the same route as the St. Patricks Day parade, so there were lots of people lining the streets to cheer us on. One of the roads we were on was the exact same one I drive down every morning on my way to work. Normally most people probably wouldn't even feel safe walking down this street in the middle of the day... I know I wouldn't. But last Saturday it looked so different because there were tons of people everywhere! It was like being in a completely different place.

In 2 weeks we'll be down in Charleston, SC for the Cooper River Bridge Run (10K). They estimate that there will be 50,000 runners!!! Can't wait!