Meet Evy

Going from slower than molasses to icing on the cake of life

Not loving running, but still needing it

Today I sit recovering from COVID-19, not able to jog much more than a few miles without exhaustion. I may not be physically up for opportunity to run the race I spent the last many months logging hours on my feet for. This disappointment makes my “why” even more apparent to me. 

I am a middle of the pack runner at best. Sweating, sometimes swearing and crying my way through my long runs. I never believed I could run, and don’t think of myself as a runner. I refer to what I do as trotting - a tad more elegant than shuffling, but it's most definitely not running. My gym teacher in grade school told me I was “slower than molasses in January” during a presidential award exercise.  

It wasn’t until I was much older, in my 30s when I was riding horses competitively that I wanted to up my cardio so I started jogging. I quickly felt the need to incorporate it into my life on a regular basis. Since then, I’ve had some sort of running routine in my life, unless sick or injured. It’s like home, something I can go back to when time allows. I don’t love to run,  I run because it allows me to move while being outside, and being outside is like breathing air for me. I need it. 

It is a privilege to move, to walk, to run. We all know friends or family members that don't have the ability, physically or mentally to take the time to move outdoors as they might wish. I try not to take this luxury I have to move in the outdoors for granted. It is what fuels me, grounds me, reminds me how fleeting each moment is.

We all know hard - hard is grieving the loss of a loved one or part of your life that is no longer. Hard is letting go of children who turn into adults. Hard is life threatening illness. Running is not hard. Running is a privilege. Time is a privilege. Having the privilege of both time and ability to run is the icing on the cake of life.