Hello, You. Nice to See you Again.

I’m a runner, or so I thought I was. Running and me have taken a break lately. Like in relationships, sometimes you need space to gain perspective, respect and renewed passion. People have asked what caused my break, or “loss of running mojo” as I like to call it, and I typically pause to ponder the question. In the end, I think it was a trifecta of events. First, and most impacting, I lost the love of my life, my Lola. People never can understand how a dog can cause me to lose interest in running, but when she past, I lost interest in a lot of things; uncertain how to gain back the passion I once had for life. The other two events were I moved from Sonoma County to Oakland and lastly, the lack of good running routes. An important run is one I can do right out my front door, in varying distances. That is hard when you live in the land of ginormous hills and frankly, when you don’t know anyone.

But, a funny thing happened today. I met a bunch of runners. And oddly enough, I saw my running mojo intermingled in them all. It is surprising what another runner can do for your own running. I hadn’t met most of these 16 fabulous ladies, but I could see a piece of myself in all of them. The enthusiasm they had for running, the stories only a runner could tell (and understand), the runners clothes, shoes and runners high when the run was finished. That was all me 10 months ago. Just maybe, I’m finding my way back. And these ladies didn’t even know the role they played (and will play) in my re-debut back into running. For this alone, I am grateful to each of them and humbled that they allowed me into their circle.

 

(Photo Credit: RunnersRambles)

As I explained to one of the runners today, there is a culture among runners you can’t find elsewhere. It is only with fellow runners can conversations flow from boob-chaffing, to marathon tinkling to using port-o-potties as a bomb shelter. Only in running have I found that even on the first date, the typical wall of privacy is down, conversations flow despite the anonymity between the two and there is immediate commonalities. One thing binds us all; we all lace up the same pair of shoes (figuratively) and step out the door…to run.

I’m not sure how often I will post, but I vow to do so more regularly than I have. I am bummed that my former running blog on Windows Live Spaces is no longer in existence when they shut down the blogging service. I lost a bunch of great posts. I guess now I have to make up for lost time.