the girl who runs

My whole life I have been the girl who reads. It was my identity. I mean, let's be real, I could read before I even started kindergarden. I LOVE TO READ. Always have, always will. I believe in correlation with this, I naturally excelled at school (except calculus, bleh). I was valedictorian, I scored big with scholarships for college, and I graduated Summa Cum Laude (I had a 3.97 for anyone wondering). I did all of those things with relative ease. 

See how pretty my bookshelf is??

You know what doesn't come naturally?

• Gymnastics
• Pom
• Cheer
• Dancing
• Softball
• Basketball
• Running
• Exercise in general

But wait, your observant mind ponders, isn't this post titled the girl who runs?? To which I cheerfully reply, "yes, yes it is." That is because for the last year of my life I have been embarking on a journey that is about more than academia where I have long risen above the norm. On Tuesday, November 6th, 2012, I became a runner. The best part of it all is that I ran my first mile on impulse after working out for half an hour on the elliptical. It was exhilarating. Fast forward 11 months, and we find the reading girl 53 days from her first half marathon... 

The beautiful part of my transformation from the girl who reads to the girl who reads and runs, is that it has challenged me to my core. The only person who can finish those 13.1 miles is.... me. That is terrifying and freeing at the same time. When I cross that finish line, I might as well be conquering the world, because that is all I have left when I'm done. Until then, I leave you with a memento from my first race.

3rd Place!!