In high school I did not participate in phys-ed class. In fact, my friend Mandy and I would rather pick (or bite) split-ends off of each other’s hair. Yes you read that right, bite them off of each other. Apparently, I wasn’t the smartest in class!

But then God… (one of my favorite ways to tell a story starts with, but then God) put me in a place in my life where I felt I had zero control over my life. We had tried to get pregnant on our own, went through infertility treatments, got pregnant, lost the baby and I was pretty much at my rock bottom.  I felt I had zero control over my life, no matter how much I prayed out to God. I wanted to be a mom more than anything in the world. I just didn’t know how I was going to get there or even when I was going to get there.

That’s when I found running. I had control over running. I could decide how hard I wanted to push, how far I wanted to go, or if I wanted to go at all. I started slow with the couch to 5k program. Let me remind you, I didn’t even run the mile in high school! One day in the middle of my walking segment of the couch to 5k, I decided I wanted to see if I could run one whole mile, without stopping. I could and I did. Then another mile, then another and then another. It was liberating. It set me free.

When I signed up for my first 5k, I got sick the night before. I was certain it was food poisoning but it really could have been nerves. I worked myself up so much I got sick. Thankfully I learned to control my nerves because I have run numerous (30+) 5k’s, 8k’s, 10k’s, a 15k and a few half marathons.

It may sound cliche but running saved me. It let me forget about life for awhile. It gave me freedom. It forced me to put myself first. Looking back, I know it is exactly where God wanted me to be. That doesn’t mean I would have wanted it a different way but somehow, someway, God’s way is always better than you ever could have imagined.

Then I found a new love for strength training. More about that later. For now, how many people out there are runners? What is your favorite distance? Mine is probably a 10k, not too short, not to long, perfect distance to let yourself loosen up and forget about the world!