Runner Nostalgia

By Amber Morrison

The other day I was out for an easy training run.  It was a gorgeous spring day in Bellingham; 75F not a cloud in the sky and people out soaking every ounce of it up.    I was cruising along railroad trail among fresh green foliage and deep floral smells of newly bloomed shrubbery.  It was was one of the runs where miles fly  by because you are lost in thought.  Today these  thoughts were nostalgic and I was brought back to a different time in my life.

Beep-beep, another mile gone and the split was the exact same.  I had been clicking of easy miles at a familiar pace, an old marathon pace.  As I continued I began thinking.  “WOW, this was my marathon pace a few years ago and today I am enjoying a training run at it.”  It was like I could see how all the little pieces have added up over the years and the progression looked linear.  As perfect as that may sound I can be the first person to tell you I know it is not linear.  There have been poor races, injuries, illnesses, surgeries and missed workouts.  It looks more like a heart beat that is climbing a mountain.  However, if you look past each little beat you begin to see how far you have gone up that mountain.

As I was thinking about prior training blocks my mind wandered further back in time.  I was asking myself, When did this journey begin?  When did I become someone who wanted to run and race?  It was pretty clear to me when the tides changed.  Community run in Oct. 2008.  Steve Grichel(local runner and Fairhaven Runners employee) asked me to join him and a few people for a track workout.  I didn’t even know how many meters that was, but I showed up in some old ratty shorts and cotton t-shirt.

Steve Grichel

What if I never went to the community 5K that day?  Would I have ever met Steve Grichel?  Think of all the people I wouldn’t know? I wouldn’t have Laura Gulley to teach me about not wearing cotton shirts and what the heck body glide was all about. I would have missed out on countless friends, local race events, supporting charities, and trips to big cities.

So thanks Steve for saying hi to me and inviting to my first track workout.  You have given my a whole new life with the love for running and countless number of amazing friends.

When you are out this weekend on a run I invite you to think about a bigger picture. How far have you come?  Was there a integral person in making you a runner?

Try to remember those who have influenced you.   Think of all the things you have learned along the way, friends you have made and miles you covered because you are a runner.

– Amber Morrison

To read more from Amber, follow her blog here.  

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