A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. ~Mignon McLaughlin
I am SO excited. My husband, Rich, has started to dabble in the world of running. He has never been a "runner" but he did run in high school for various sports. After two, very recent, back surgeries he has been taking it easy with exercising, and trying to do low impact cardio. However, I passed the bug onto him. He has been listening to me ramble on and on about my running and he's taking the plunge, slowly.
This weekend, after an amazingly relaxing day of shopping without the kids, Rich asked me if I wanted to do a short run on the trail with him. I was so excited that we would finally get to run together. Though, I was feeling lousy from a head cold and running would breach my "1 week off after the 1/2 marathon promise" I had with myself, I just wanted to get out there and experience something I love so much, with the person I love so much.
We both quickly changed into running clothes and headed for the trail. I was downright giddy about this run, a feeling I haven't had in awhile. In the 11 years we've been together, running is something we've never done as a couple. We were embarking on a new adventure! I will be honest, I wasn't sure if I would like having him out there with me. Running has been an activity I do with my girls, or alone. It's a break from everything familiar and constant. I use running for escape and my sole sisters are my sounding board for all of my vents. I was worried how we would "mesh" out there. Yes, I was worried how I would get along with my husband while we were running. Think about it, I was letting him into MY sport. It's like him inviting me to play football with his buddies, and him worrying I would go all girly on the field when my nail broke from the hard damn ball that was winged at me. You can see where I'm coming from, right?
We picked a section of the trail that had a small grade and set out to do 2 miles (his choice). I told him we would run at his pace, due to my head cold and stiff half marathon muscles, I was willing to go easy on him. The weather was absolutely perfect and there was a good amount of people out walking, biking and running. We headed south and fell into stride pretty quickly. I had to have been grinning from ear to ear running next to him. We chatted about a few things and he asked me some questions about running. I gave him a few tips about his form, and some pointers on how to lower the impact on his back by changing his gait. I also showed him my "coffee cup trick" for easing the tension in your shoulders (ask me about that one, it's pretty nice) and we just glided along. We reached the 1 mile turn around in what felt like 5 minutes. As we turned around, Rich mentioned that we ran a mile in under 10 minutes (he has been averaging closer to 10:30 minutes per mile). I laughed and told him that tends to happen when you run with someone else, and you're enjoying it.
When we made it back to the 2 mile marker, I was disappointed. I wished we could have spent a lot more time out there having uninterrupted chatting. I would have ran with him for days to catch up on life, sans children hanging from our legs and demanding our undivided attention. We ended the run feeling refreshed, energized and happy. I felt like we had fallen in love all over again, and it only took 20 minutes. I love that after 11 years together we can continue to open new chapters in our relationship. This chapter can take us anywhere, anytime, and I hope that soon it will take us over a finish line, together, just us.
Run Hard,
Run Strong,
Run for You,
Holly
This weekend, after an amazingly relaxing day of shopping without the kids, Rich asked me if I wanted to do a short run on the trail with him. I was so excited that we would finally get to run together. Though, I was feeling lousy from a head cold and running would breach my "1 week off after the 1/2 marathon promise" I had with myself, I just wanted to get out there and experience something I love so much, with the person I love so much.
We both quickly changed into running clothes and headed for the trail. I was downright giddy about this run, a feeling I haven't had in awhile. In the 11 years we've been together, running is something we've never done as a couple. We were embarking on a new adventure! I will be honest, I wasn't sure if I would like having him out there with me. Running has been an activity I do with my girls, or alone. It's a break from everything familiar and constant. I use running for escape and my sole sisters are my sounding board for all of my vents. I was worried how we would "mesh" out there. Yes, I was worried how I would get along with my husband while we were running. Think about it, I was letting him into MY sport. It's like him inviting me to play football with his buddies, and him worrying I would go all girly on the field when my nail broke from the hard damn ball that was winged at me. You can see where I'm coming from, right?
We picked a section of the trail that had a small grade and set out to do 2 miles (his choice). I told him we would run at his pace, due to my head cold and stiff half marathon muscles, I was willing to go easy on him. The weather was absolutely perfect and there was a good amount of people out walking, biking and running. We headed south and fell into stride pretty quickly. I had to have been grinning from ear to ear running next to him. We chatted about a few things and he asked me some questions about running. I gave him a few tips about his form, and some pointers on how to lower the impact on his back by changing his gait. I also showed him my "coffee cup trick" for easing the tension in your shoulders (ask me about that one, it's pretty nice) and we just glided along. We reached the 1 mile turn around in what felt like 5 minutes. As we turned around, Rich mentioned that we ran a mile in under 10 minutes (he has been averaging closer to 10:30 minutes per mile). I laughed and told him that tends to happen when you run with someone else, and you're enjoying it.
When we made it back to the 2 mile marker, I was disappointed. I wished we could have spent a lot more time out there having uninterrupted chatting. I would have ran with him for days to catch up on life, sans children hanging from our legs and demanding our undivided attention. We ended the run feeling refreshed, energized and happy. I felt like we had fallen in love all over again, and it only took 20 minutes. I love that after 11 years together we can continue to open new chapters in our relationship. This chapter can take us anywhere, anytime, and I hope that soon it will take us over a finish line, together, just us.
Run Hard,
Run Strong,
Run for You,
Holly
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