Because I Can

I run because I can.

Sounds simple enough, and it is.

I exercise and train because I can. In a world when many people cannot run, or walk, I do it because I can.

Yesterday I received horrible news that a friend of mine died of breast cancer at age 36. She leaves behind 6 children...the youngest is 2 weeks old and in the NICU. She lived long enough to have this baby boy...a boy who will never know his wonderful mom.

I know another mom, my same age, who is battling ALS. She is in her 6th year after diagnosis, and went from being active (like me), doing all the ordinary things I take for granted, to living life from a wheelchair, slowly losing mobility...day by day.

So, I run because I can. I have a body that is waiting (and willing!) to be trained to run farther and faster. Other than diabetes, which slows me somedays, I have no excuse. I can get up, put on my workout clothes, tie my Nikes, and hit the pavement. And I do. Because I can. 


We who are able-bodied should rejoice. We should do as much as we can with what we have been given. Pushing ourself to the limit should be our goal. It is certainly my goal. I have gone from supreme wuss to motivated woman full of Adrenaline.

My trainer recently said to me (as I was working out on a new piece of equipment), "Adrenaline, you are becoming more and more athletic everytime I see you!" Athletic is never a word I would've used to describe myself. But, in the last 2 years it has become a word I love. I want to be athletic. I want to push myself and train my body to do amazing things. I want to run marathons. Why?

 Because I can.


"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." ~ Steve Prefontaine