I’m picturing Joe seeing the title of this blog post in his newsfeed and choking on his coffee while beads of sweat drip from his forehead and he clutches his chest LOLLOLLOL. It’s not what you think, but I DO have a really exciting announcement …

When I reflect on my relationship with running, I can’t help but notice how similar it is to, well, a relationship. We started dating in high school when I joined the cross country team, but I was immature and didn’t take the relationship seriously. My girlfriends and I would hide in the woods during practice if the run that day involved a loop and then conveniently jump back into the pack on the final lap (true story). I wasn’t that into it, I just ran because all my friends ran and I wanted something to do after school. I mean, my gawd this metaphor practically writes itself …

At the start of college, I took a break from running because I just wanted to party and see other guys named 2AM Pizza and Chipotle. That was fun for a while, but then I started to see how good other girls looked with Running and I started to get jealous. I wanted him back. 

We got back together, but it was an unhealthy relationship—as all relationships are when you don’t feel good about yourself. I relied on running for my self worth and abused it. It wasn’t fun or enjoyable, it was a crutch. And I was only hurting myself by staying with it (crippling Achilles tendonitis flare-ups that I’d force myself to run through).

My relationship with running got better after college as my relationship with myself got better, and it became fun for me again. I listened to my body and took weeks off if my tendonitis was aggravated, and then I eventually decided to run my first half marathon. We were in a good place, committed and comfortable. Some weeks of training were terrible, but the feeling of accomplishment I had when I crossed the finish line made it all worth it.

Because we’d been together so long and the sailing was so smooth, I started to become complacent. It became easier to prioritize other things in my life over running because I knew it’d always be there for me. I stopped putting in the work, and the spark in the relationship faded.

I focused on other things—Lagree Fitness, HIIT workouts, yoga—and honestly didn’t think about running much at all. It was a healthy thing to do, as there’s no need to settle for complacency in a relationship. 

Just like two lovers who’ve gone their separate ways, matured and grown as individuals, and then had their paths cross later in life, I feel like I’m back together with running and we’re ready to tie the knot and start cranking out kids. In fact, I kinda can’t believe what I did earlier this week …

I applied to run this year’s Boston Marathon on a charity team. Um, hello, shotgun wedding! There’s no guarantee I’ll be accepted to the team, but I’m still all sorts of excited/nervous/panicked. What have I done?!

For those of you unfamiliar with how the Boston Marathon works, you essentially have two options for getting a bib number: 1. Qualify by running an insanely fast marathon elsewhere 2. Commit to raise at least $5k for one of that year’s charity teams. Some people feel that running via charity team means you’re not a “real” runner, but honestly I don’t feel that way at all or care. Running a marathon just so that I can run ANOTHER marathon?! No. That sounds absolutely miserable.

Even though I really have fallen back in love with running, the super long distance stuff is still rough on my tendonitis, and running a marathon is truly a one-and-done bucket list item for me. And if I’m only going to do it once, it HAS to be Boston. I should know by the end of October if I was accepted to the team, and of course you guys will be the first to know!

The Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women

In the meantime, I’ve got another (definite) race coming up that I’m super excited about. I’m going to run the Tufts Health Plank 10K on October 12 with a couple other Boston bloggers, and it should be a great time! The race celebrates women and healthy living and if you’re in the area that weekend (it’s on Columbus Day), there’s still time to register HERE.

I haven’t been using a specific training plan, but instead just make sure to run at least three times a week: a short run (3-4 miles), a longer run (5-7 miles) and then some sort of speed training, which has been in the form of Barry’s Bootcamp these past few weeks (that counts, right??).

I feel like this time around, I’m MUCH better about prioritizing stretching and foam rolling after I run (I used to ignore this all too often), and it’s made this whole rekindled relationship all the better for my body.

Do you have any upcoming races you’re looking forward to?

How many of you were extremely disappointed this blog post was about running and not about marriage (ha!)?

Pictures in this post were all taken on recent runs around Boston. I <3 this pretty city!