Running: Good for the Soul?

Learning to enjoy running has been a long and difficult process, that is no where near over.  After moving to Madrid, I quickly learned that regular skating would no longer be in my repertoire.  With every rink being a hefty commute away, and lacking time dedicated to figure skaters,  my first passion had to head to the back burner for a little while.  I've always found a certain peace while on the ice, especially during solo practice times, so I began to yearn for the same endorphin-rush inducing outlet.  Enter: running.

Now wait, pause, flashback...  What led me into a lower impact sport initially (yes, running... way less impact than skating), was a hip surgery I had almost a year ago now.  I had been abusing my body for years with too much high impact skating, and surgery became the last resort.  Recovery was a long journey, much more difficult than I could've ever imagined, but it opened my eyes to the idea of cross-training; the importance of treating our bodies well, and the benefits of doing so. During my recovery, I spent a lot of time strengthening my body with stretching, weights, bike riding, and eventually, running.  

Does this picture show off how happy I was at the time?

So, with a fixed up hip, an idea of how to treat my body, and a love for skating, I moved to Madrid, and found all three of these being compromised.  My hip killed from all of the walking and the lack of places to continue my physical therapy, I had no gym membership and limitless food & drink at my fingertips, and not a rink in sight that offered what I needed (time & proximity).  I knew that something had to give but I wasn't sure of what and where.

I had watched my father become a fantastic runner over the years, and had always been jealous of his dedication to it, especially because it could be done aaaanywhere.  So after a few weeks of dilly-dallying, I decided it was time to get started.  I did what any logical person would do, and signed up for a 10k that was 6 weeks away, without any training under my belt.  I quickly whipped myself into shape, and by the time I was a week out from race day, I found myself feeling somewhat prepared.  Each time I ran, I struggled through the first kilometer, and then I would kind of sink into a groove; into a place where my thoughts went silent and legs entered autopilot.  A place similar to what I would find on the ice.  Race day came, and I finished under my projected time, with a smile on my face.  I was pleasantly surprised with how good it felt to be part of something, like a race.  While still a solo sport, there's much more of a social component to running than skating has ever had.  I liked the quiet camaraderie and the unspoken connected as each kilometer ticked by.  I was ultimately shocked by how satisfying it all was.

Breaking a Guinness World Record in Madrid!

Madrid turned out to be the perfect place for running.  The winter climate settles around 45º at night, the city has a perfect pairing of hills and long stretches, and with headphones in and pounding feet, people don't tend to stop you for conversation on the street.  And even more perfectly, no matter how much it makes my legs burn and my chest pound, it makes my brain slow down.  At the end of the day, the hardest thing for me has always been to unwind, and rather than my favorite pastime of distracting myself, I'm finding much more comfort in becoming at peace with myself.  So, as a toootally sane person (haha..) I've somehow signed myself up for another 10k in 8 weeks and a 1/2 marathon in 12 weeks.  Let's go!