I’m not a very a good runner.

At least, not by the common standards used to judge running.

When it comes to time, I’m safely average.

I don’t run with texbook consistency.

I’m horrible at following training plans.

I regulary fall short of my goals, in time and distance.

Some years I make it to the finish line of a marathon, some years I don’t even make it to the start.

I haven’t gotten significantly faster in years.

And I don’t care.

To me, running isn’t about any of those things.

It’s not about impressing my friends with a speedy finish time.

It’s not about making myself run when I don’t want to.

It’s not about beating my body and my mind into submission.

And it certainly isn’t about no pain, no gain, (which is seriously the worst mantra ever).

To me, running is about having fun.

And to have fun I had to give up on wanting to be better than I was.

The choice is worth it.

Choosing fun, allows me to love myself, regardless of the outcome.

To me, that’s what running is about.

It’s about showing up, getting out the door and letting inspiration take over. Even if inspiration says five minutes.

It’s about giving myself the gift of movement, in a way that makes me want to do it until I’m 90. (That’s my primary goal, keep running & enjoying it until I’m 90).

It’s about listening to and trusting my body, when my body says yes and when it says no.

It’s about learning to overcome the road blocks my mind puts up to identify the lies I tell myself, so my body has the chance to say yes.

Running is about loving myself when I slack off, just as much as I do when I tear it up.

Running is about me. How I choose to approach life, challenges and opportunities.

How I choose to handle the hard times and how willing I am to let it be easy. It’s about choosing to enjoy it, even if that means I finish farther back.

It’s about seeing my strengths, about seeing what I can do, rather than focusing on what I can’t.

It’s about celebrating every single step along the way, even if that step happens to be a walk.

That’s why I love to run.

That’s why I keep showing up. That’s what makes me good at it. Even if good isn’t measured by finish times.