Guest blog post: What running means to me by KimAngeline

Posted In: ChiRunning | Goals | Running | Weight loss November 14th, 2011 divider 2 Comments »

Running has taught me more things than I could have ever imagined.  A year ago I was 40 lbs overweight, a single mom to three, and had been weaning myself slowly off antidepressants that I had been on for about 10 years.  I ran a home daycare, so spent most of my time close to home, with very little time for me. During a rare week away, I decided to make some changes in my life. The first of which was to start running.

Why running? It was easy to fit into a schedule, relatively inexpensive, and I could do it anywhere as long as I had my shoes. I had watched my friend in her running journey over the previous year and it intrigued me as to how much she LOVED it. I also joined a “Learn to Run” class because I knew that heading into fall, I wouldn’t maintain on my own if I had
no one to be accountable to.  When I started, I could hardly run a minute without feeling like death warmed over.  I became amazed, however, that my body adapted pretty quickly. What also was exciting for me was how running spilled over into different areas of my life.

Goal setting and self-discipline had never been my strong point.  I would start things and rarely finish them.  Once I started running, though, I noticed myself gradually making changes in other areas. Seeing what I could accomplish with running gave me confidence to accomplish things in other parts of my life. I kept stretching myself with running, starting with a 3k run, then a 5k then the 10k Resolution Run.

I had the good fortune of connecting with Eric and learning about ChiRunning, which has helped me so much along the way. Now, let’s be honest here…. I’m never going to win any races and I’m not running crazy long distances….yet. But here I am a year later, 30lbs lighter, more confident. I have a new career potential I couldn’t have dreamed up.

The people who have come into my life are people I WANT in my life because of their attitudes, honesty and commitment to growth. I am in the best place I’ve ever been and honestly I owe it in huge part to lacing up my shoes and beginning my running journey.
It literally started with just one step…

KimAngeline is local superstar mom, photographer and now runner. You can read her amazing blog here. Be ready to be inspired!