Not So Cool Runnings

       Running and I have come to an understanding over the years. I've never put a great amount of pressure on my performance and it often brings me joy. This was not always the case. Growing up I was extremely active. I enjoyed ballet, soccer, swimming, and riding my bike. When I got into middle school I added cheerleading to the list. One of the ways that we were punished was running. I remember thinking how could anyone ever really enjoy running? Then soccer season started. I had an issue running a solid mile, I'm not really proud of admitting this but it beez the truth. I normally played fullback which did not require me to run the entire time but the coach wanted me to play halfback. I knew that I had to work on my running. A lot of the people in my family are marathon runners and have qualified for the Boston Marathon. My step-dad also loved to run. He told me one of the ways to conserve energy was to not use your arms when you run. This made baseball practice a little more enjoyable for the guys.

         Matthew let me know that they had nicked name me "Wonder Woman" because I would not move my arms when I ran and would just hold my hips. I told him that I was trying to conserve energy so that I could go further. He let me know that it looked silly and I might want to rethink my running technique. I got various coaching techniques from other coaches. One of our football coaches that went to my church, Mr. Wilhelm, talked to me after youth group about why I was running without moving my arms. I explained that it was suppose to help conserve energy. We talked about various running techniques and building endurance. He told me it did not matter how slow I was going as long as I was going. I took this to heart and went extremely slow in my runs. Mr. Wilhelm took it upon himself to be my running coach. He'd show up at soccer practice and stage himself at various intervals during our long runs shouting out instructions.
"Stephens, your stride needs to be longer"

"Stephens, you can go faster then that... come on..."

"haha, nice face, use that anger.... AND USE YOUR ARMS"

        I was less than appreciative of this extra attention especially since the rest of the soccer team wanted to know why he was calling me out on my runs. I worked on my running during the off season and slowly it got easier and I could go longer and faster. It took work and serious dedication and I could tell a difference if I skipped a week. My senior year I was recruited to run on the cross country team. I was allowed to just show up for meets and run because my schedule was already full. I was doing dance four or five days a week. I was not the fastest girl on the cross country team but we qualified for state and I was the second or third fastest girl on the soccer team. I still want to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

“Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.” - Grant M Bright

"I run because it's so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can't. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you're capable of so much more than you thought." 
--Arthur Blank