Running is My Peace

Many people find peace in reading a good book, sharing a coffee with a great friend or going to a spa. My peace and solitude is exercise. I love to exercise, specifically, I love to run. I got serious about running about seven years ago when I was planning my wedding, going to graduate school and trying to find a "big girl" job. I was stressed and running sent me to a happy place. I continued to put a lot of miles on my tennis shoes after landing a great job, tying the knot and eventually moving to a place where I had access to an amazing Interurban Trail, which is a great place to zone out in nature and just run.

When I got pregnant with twins four years ago, my goal was to run as long into that pregnancy as I could, and I did so until 28 weeks (they were born at 31 weeks). With my third child, I ran until three days before she was born at 39 weeks. Though I had a bit of a waddle and wasn't going too fast, I was still moving. I even did a Turkey Trot in Thiensville on Thanksgiving Day at seven months pregnant; though not too fast, but I ran the entire thing and felt so good about myself to have accomplished that. 

The bombing that occurred yesterday at the Boston Marathon shakes me and saddens me as someone who dearly loves to run. Though I have never participated in a race of that caliber, and maybe I never will, I do know what it's like to run day-after-day. The individuals who ran yesterday dedicated time day-after-day to train for such an event. They sweat, they hurt, they were sore and they gave so much of themselves for this triumphant personal accomplishment. With that said, for such an evil to take that accomplishment away is simply unjust. Not to mention, hurting anyone, whether they were runners, spectators or bystanders, is completely vile.

I thought a lot about those runners yesterday and continue to today. I put myself in their "shoes" and think about what I would have done if I had survived after the explosion. Where are my children who were cheering me on? Are they safe? Where are my training buddies? Are they hurt?

I'm sure these folks went through so much, and they may never be able to fully recover. To that, I go back to running and did so this morning. I thought about those marathoners and felt sad but I kept going, stride after stride. You must, you must stride on, run on; at least for me, it brings me peace.