Born to Run

So, several things of note have been going on in my life, of late and because of all of them, I would have to conclude that; for the moment, my life is really quite blessed.

I’ll start small and work my way up:

My nieces (aged 7 and 9) have taken to running. M, the 7 year old, really has a knack for it already. She’s a natural born runner, and it takes my breath away for her. I say this particularly because she’s one of those painfully shy (unless she knows you, but that’s not a 100% guarantee) kids who never seems to require anything that requires any sort of mental or physical stimulation. A fact that is difficult to watch, only because she is a smart, beautiful little girl. While she might often get involved with sports, she’s not really one to give it a whole lot of, well… energy. When it comes to running though, it seems to put M on a whole different plane of existence. I was emailing with her mom the other day, and here’s what she was telling me:

Just wanted to update ya on the running. The girls ran on Monday, after soccer.

M ran 1.5 miles in 15 minutes! She is a natural, I know - shocking! She puts on her ipod and gets into a rhythm and it is amazing: great stride, great gait, very natural. She runs this, and only complains of hunger. She has a toothless smile on her face and loves every minute of it. She loves it.

When she is in the mood to do it, she can actually run circles around H. Mainly cause M can pace herself. Already, she can pace. I told her not to go to fast so she wont get pooped. "Steady pace wins the race!" I keep telling them. Ha!

…M ran 1.8 miles, then made me run another half mile to school with her for a poetry reading she was in. She was a little running maniac. She didn't want to stop, she has the bug!

I have to tell you, there are not enough words to express how utterly joyous I feel when I think of this kid loving something so physical. I grin from ear to ear, in fact! Finally, FINALLY there is something active that this kid is good at and is LOVING! I realize it’s pretty early on in the process of them starting to run, but trust me, for M, THIS IS HUGE!

The fact that she was so confident that she could actual told her Mom that—if they (Mom and H) slow down, she will follow the crowd and run ahead of us and finish on her own and meet Joe at finish line—is nothing short of astounding!

But that kid, M, my niece, was born to run!

Happy Running!