Memories of Running

For me, life has a way of being dormant for long periods of time, followed by short periods of high stress. A volcano if you will. It’s at these times that I turn to running.

During Marine Corps boot camp, there were 2 things that I always looked forward to: church and our daily run. Church was always a pleasant experience, because the Drill Instructors didn’t attend. It did not matter if you had any religious beliefs; going to church gave you an entire hour away from the people that made your life a living hell. Everyone went.

To relive the stress in boot camp, I always looked forward to the runs. Here you were pushed to excel and to yell! Ultimately, you knew that the run would end and it’d be right back to living hell, but it was a short reprieve.

I had never been a big running fan before joining the military, but since then I’ve always seemed to fall back into running when life notches up the intensity, without asking for permission first. And life certainly did not ask permission recently.

Lately, life is definitely offering up its challenges, and I push back with a run. I think the key for me is that I let myself be emotional while running. When the emotions get to be overwhelming, I sprint, and it’s like they’re burned from me. It’s almost that I’m purging these feelings by sheer will.

I’ve got to go; I have a date with my running shoes.