why I run

I never ran. I never even exercised before. Ever.
I'm the girl who couldn't lose weight so I had to have gastric bypass surgery or my future was not going to be that sunny shade of yellow I needed it to be.

8 years after surgery I'm running and it feels good.
I have been able to keep the weight off with just the guidance of gastric bypass but it's becoming harder and harder everyday, so I decided it was time to do something else.

This is the addiction I chose.

It has been a slow starting progress but I am getting there.

I run because...

... it's peaceful
... rewarding
... exhausting. After I'm done, I take some of the greatest naps!
... energizing. I do some of my best housework when I return from a run!
... I need discipline
... I need motivation
... I'm tired of saying "I wish I could run like that" when I see someone run
... I want to be that person people see and say "I wish I could run like that"
... I'm learning knew things about my body
... I want my son to grow up and see me doing something healthy
... someday, maybe my son will run with me
... it has built connections with people I never knew existed
... I look at myself differently
... I think about myself differently
... I want others to look at me differently
... I am no longer the girl who "just had gastric bypass"
... I am doing something physical
... I want to race in a 5K
... or more.
... I want my races to be for charities so my growth is their gain.

I run because I want to!