Half Dome-ination

 

Back then I hoped it would be a way to look good in a bikini, and I did drop about 15 lbs right away, but I also made some of my best friends in the universe. We suffered through 3pm runs in the Florida heat. We ate pasta together the night before races. We sang silly songs and made up ridiculous dances to distract from the lactic acid building in our scrawny legs. We laughed all. the. time. We got competitive sometimes, but mostly we made something I thought would be impossible to ever enjoy the most fun thing of my young life. 

I loved running, but I knew I wasn’t going to try to make it competitively in college, so for a while I lost it. I missed having my team to get sweaty with every day, and my new group of sorority gals weren’t really the running type (drinking? oh yes. running? nah). I was having fun, but I wasn’t running and I was starting to feel pretty rotten because of it.


I was at the beach with my BFF’s family sophomore year of college and this older gal I didn’t know very well told me she ran a half marathon. I had to know everything—how did she train? How hard was it? What was the course like? It was like she flipped the switch. The revelation that people from all over the world came together to run 3, 9, 13 and 26 miles together made me realize, once again, that maybe I could be athletic too. I signed up right away (and couldn’t convince a single other soul to do it with me), and I trained my ass off. Once again, I looked and felt good, and I realized this was gonna be a thing for as long as my body would let it.

I’ve used running as a way to make new friends, and it’s my favorite way to bond with old ones. It’s been a way to find bloggers to follow when I didn’t even know they existed, and a way to connect with ones who are just starting to discover their running potential. It’s my way to explore new cities when I travel, and an excuse to travel in general—Disney, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and, last weekend, Yosemite. 

Sometimes I train really hard and crush it (like for that marathon), and sometimes I wing it and just have fun (…and can’t move the next day, or the next). But no matter how far I go or how prepared I am, the best feeling in the world is sharing the experience and excitement with people who inspire you, support you and crack you up all at the same time.

Special thanks to Wente for providing the breakfast beverage of choice. Check out their wine selection and their vineyard, and don’t forget to celebrate Chardonnay Day on May 25 (I’ll be collaborating with them again next weekend in Livermore–so excited!).