My Memorial Day Run

Last week I was highly unmotivated and had cranked to a friend about not wanting to run in the rain or the wind…. She, a half-marathon runner, promptly grounded me with “Um, never use the weather as an excuse not to run, I ran 13.1 miles in the windy rainy cold in April”(The Glass City Marathon)

I stood corrected.

So today, the first time running since my wonderful “cheerleaders”, I ran in the rain.

It was beautiful. It was cleansing. It was motivating.

I’ve been “running free” for the past week and a half or so (not totally intentionally, I just have a bad habit of STILL not charging up my ipod….) and the lack of music or timing or anything really opens up the ability to get your thinking on. I HIGHLY recommend running without music or eyeballing your watch at LEAST once a week. It’s good for the soul.

As I ran, I thought of the sacrifices our soldiers make for our freedoms. I thought of how I am allowed to run out in the rain, or how I’m allowed to wear whatever I want, do whatever I want. All thanks to our soldiers’ sacrifices.

As I ran, I passed a man walking, he laughed and asked “Getting a little wet, huh?” I just responded, “It’s okay, for what our soldiers do, I can handle this.”

He agreed.

It gave me chills, and a boost of energy, and took me past my mile and allowed me to finish up my third lap. I’m proud of myself, and my country!

I hope everyone has a safe and respectful Memorial Day!