"Why Do You Run???"

...a lot of people ask me this question. To give you a 100% honest answer, I don't necessarily ENJOY it. I do enjoy the camaraderie of the sport, the satisfaction I feel after a good long run or race, the awesome peeps I've met but the miles, the tears and the time I put into training sometimes just really wears on me. So why then Alyssa? Couldn't you find something more enjoyable and equally satisfying?

Well sure but...I run because I like pushing myself, I like to see myself do things I couldn't think imaginable (run a marathon or a sub-30 5k), I like to break limits I NEVER thought imaginable. I used to hear the word "marathon" and think those people are CRAZY! Now I'm one of those crazy people. The real truth though is I started running because I was losing control. We couldn't get pregnant, we found out IVF would be the only way to have a child of our own...my life was spinning out of control and I couldn't do a thing about it. My co-worker walked in to work one day, not knowing what was going on in my life and handed me a magazine. "Here, this has a training plan for a half-marathon." I looked at it and said okay why not?

It was hard, it was tough...I ached, I cried, I complained but I did it! And I keep pushing myself to do even better with my running. So while I may not have control of our TTC and I may never be a mother, I still have my running to push me, to encourage me, to set goals and feel that sense of control and achievement.

The whole point of this post is not just to explain to you WHY I run but to tell you to check out this link where myself and other runners explain why we run. I heart the running community! Also, I can't tell you how many times I've been asked this question and when I've honestly answered and told them about our TTC journey, 1/5 times the person I'm talking to will tell me about their TTC struggles. Two great communities!