Why do I run?

Why is a good place to start. I guess the first response is "Sanity". I have 3 kids, 10, 7 and almost 4 year old. I run an in home daycare from 6:45 to about 5:00 or 6:00 at night. So without running I would need to be on medication. When do I run? At about 5:45 on Mondays, Tues. I take a day off. Wed. I run at track practice (with Gate City Strider's). Thurs. off or easy run. Friday at 6:00 (I don't start work until 8:30) Saturday I run a long run of about 10-15 miles and on Sunday about 7-8 miles easy. So when people say that they don't have time to exercise, I don't have a lot of sympathy, because you Can fit it in if you try hard enough.

I have run since 8th grade. I ran in high school, then in College. After that I ran with Liberty Track club, but got burned out. 4 years ago I moved to NH. and hooked up with the striders. I love the group and couldn't be happier. I run a lot of local races and enjoy them. Sometimes I get sick of racing, but mostly I enjoy them. I am lucky to have a husband that has realized that running is so important to me and he always supports me in my running. He knows that I am just not fun to be around without running. I wish I could say that I do more, like lifting or cross training , but I don't. I am trying to fit in lifting(helps my bad back). But am not consistent. Ah, the consistent word. I wish I could say that I was more consistent, but I am not great at it. I can go from running 45 miles a week to running 20 the next. This week I have taken off 3 days, however, I am going to run a race on Monday, so I guess I am tapering. It is a 5k, which I have not done in a long time. Oh well,we will see how it goes. I do feel like I had a huge break through this past race. I ran a 10miler and ran a 1:08 a 6:43 a mile. That is huge for me. I had a PR. of 1:10 before so I was so happy to get that time. I hope that this race will show good results as well. Some things have changed this year that may have helped. First, we have a new coach who is great. Dave Camier. He is the founder of Coolrunning. He is smart and knows running. Second, I hoked up with these fast women and I love running with them. They are so good and they make me run much faster than I am used to. Plus, I was running about 25-30 miles a week and now I am about 35-45 miles a week. I think it will help (I hope) . So I hope that this next race will also see good results. We shall see..... So, I hope someone is out there reading my blog and interested in fitness, health and the pursuit of health and fitness. I really want to achieve balance in my life and calmness that I really want to have. We shall see. ..Let me know if you are out there and what your interest are...Good bye for now :)