I\u2019ve been quiet for a couple weeks.\u00a0 I guess you could say I was letting the dust settle on my last post.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t really been able to figure out what someone says after opening up their heart in such a way.\u00a0 But I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t at least acknowledge my gratitude for the outpouring of love and encouragement I received in response to RRG: Unveiled.\u00a0 The Facebook comments alone were enough to bring me to tears many times.\u00a0 But additionally, the texts, hugs and personal messages from those of you sharing your own stories with me were truly overwhelming.<\/p>\n
A little over a year ago when I started Rambling Runner Girl, I never could have imagined sharing the depths of my soul like that, but those of you who have been loyal supporters, have made it come easy.\u00a0 And while the words seem small and inadequate, from the bottom of my heart, I say Thank you.<\/p>\n
Last week while I was at work, I had an epiphany. And that was\u2026I have an addiction.\u00a0 Now, I know what you\u2019re all thinking, which is \u201cUm, duh, you\u2019re addicted to running\u201d but hear me out on this.<\/p>\n
I guess after a post like Unveiled, it\u2019s not terribly surprising that I\u2019ve had several conversations about things like attitude and the troubles that come with this life.\u00a0 At one point I even typed these words in a text, \u201cThere will always be problems.\u00a0 The key is having joy in spite of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s so true, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Most of the time, life is about getting it all done, going to work, making the rounds, paying the bills, checking off the list.\u00a0 There are days where the refrigerator breaks down or the service engine light comes on in the car or we spend an hour on hold with Anthem to find out that they are changing our health insurance plan because of Obamacare.\u00a0 Sometimes the little things can make it feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders and we aren\u2019t sure how we\u2019re going to get out from under it.\u00a0 But we fight through it all, and eventually we step outside on that first spring-like day after suffering through the Polar Vortex, then we close our eyes and smile as we lift our face to the sun just to feel it\u2019s warmth.<\/p>\n
So, at work the other day I was talking to Mike Barro.\u00a0 We were discussing the fact that triathlons really are not a poor man\u2019s sport.\u00a0 There is always something more to buy, especially with cycling.\u00a0 A new bike.\u00a0 Specialized parts.\u00a0 Cycling shoes.\u00a0 A helmet.\u00a0 An aero helmet.\u00a0 Apparel.\u00a0 Accessories.\u00a0 The list is endless.\u00a0 And even once we acquire the necessities at the very least, there is maintenance. And repairs. \u00a0And race entry fees, should we choose to be competitive.<\/p>\n
I am the exception to that rule.\u00a0 While triathletes seem to hemorrhage money sometimes, I am not capable of doing that on a single mom budget.\u00a0 That\u2019s why finally, this week, I am considering replacing the helmet that I\u2019ve been using since college.\u00a0 Do the math, yes, it\u2019s been a long time.\u00a0 That is also why I\u2019ve considered that I may be going to Arizona in November with a road bike instead of a tri bike.\u00a0 It\u2019s not ideal, but I\u2019ve suffered worse inadequacies before.\u00a0 (Is there anyone out there who wants to buy me a bike?\u00a0 Anyone? Anyone? No?) I don\u2019t exactly fit the mold here.\u00a0 But when have I ever fit any kind of mold?\u00a0 I don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
So as Mike and I were talking, I was explaining that while the timing of getting into triathlons was somewhat off financially, it was so right in terms of so many other things.\u00a0 Triathlons came along at a time that I had many uncertainties in my life.\u00a0 I was about to be a single parent.\u00a0 I was going to be a single home owner.\u00a0 I had just gone back to work after several years of being a stay at home mom.\u00a0 I was stepping out of my comfort zone on many levels.\u00a0 So why wouldn\u2019t I step out of my running comfort zone too?\u00a0 Tackling challenges makes me happy.\u00a0 Facing fears makes me happy.\u00a0 Crossing a finish line makes me happy.\u00a0 Proving\u00a0something to myself makes me happy.\u00a0And just knowing I had the courage to try, makes me happy.<\/p>\n
While I was running on Saturday, my longest run this year, a whole 6 miles, a song came on my ipod.\u00a0 The words were\u2026\u201dIt\u2019s like the sun is shining when the rain is pouring down, it\u2019s like my soul is flying though my feet are on the ground.\u201d\u00a0 And yeah, when I\u2019m running, it\u2019s like that.\u00a0 If I\u2019m having a bad day, running helps me escape that for a little while and reminds me that it will be ok.\u00a0 If I\u2019m having a good day, running just makes it that much better.<\/p>\n
My addiction isn\u2019t about triathlons.\u00a0 It\u2019s not even about running.\u00a0 My addiction may in some part be about the endorphins that surge through me after a solid workout.\u00a0 And I do love a good \u201crunner\u2019s high\u201d. But mostly, I\u2019m addicted to joy.\u00a0 Simple as that.<\/p>\n
My friend Diana said to me last week that she thinks for a lot of people, it\u2019s easier to be sad, or grumpy, or angry, than it is to be happy.\u00a0 And while I have my bad days where I am in a funk, I know that is definitely not the case for me.\u00a0 I find it so much easier to just be happy.\u00a0 Even in the face of adversity, I will choose to grin and bear it, both literally and figuratively.\u00a0 My addiction is joy.<\/p>\n
In the words of Buddy the Elf, \u201cI just like to smile, smiling\u2019s my favorite\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been quiet for a couple weeks.\u00a0 I guess you could say I was letting the dust settle on my last post.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t really been able to figure out what someone says after opening up their heart in such a way.\u00a0 But I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t at least acknowledge my gratitude […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-randomthoughts","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eO4v-9W","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=616"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":618,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616\/revisions\/618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ramblingrunnergirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}