"Running is a road
to self awareness
and self reliance.
You can push yourself to extremes
and learn the harsh reality of
your physical and mental
limitations
or
coast quietly down
a solitary path
watching the Earth
spin at your feet.
But, when you are through,
exhilarated and exhausted,
at least for the moment
everything seems right
in the world."
to self awareness
and self reliance.
You can push yourself to extremes
and learn the harsh reality of
your physical and mental
limitations
or
coast quietly down
a solitary path
watching the Earth
spin at your feet.
But, when you are through,
exhilarated and exhausted,
at least for the moment
everything seems right
in the world."
"I run because it’s my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I’m going where I’m going and I’m already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise... it's a consistent reward for victory!" - Sasha Azevedo
"I believe in the runner’s high, and I believe that those who are passionate about running are the ones who experience it to the fullest degree possible. To me, the runner’s high is a sensational reaction to a great run! It’s an exhilarating feeling of satisfaction and achievement. It’s like being on top of the world, and truthfully… there’s nothing else quite like it!" - Sasha Azevedo
I am a sister, daughter, girlfriend, teacher, RUNNER.
A runner. For
me, running is fun, tiring, inspiring, and mind clearing. Running is good for
the body and good for the soul.
I wasn’t always into running. But I grew up with a
mom who is an avid runner. I remember biking along side of her when she would
go for runs and sometimes my brothers and I would play games in the soccer
fields when she would do track workouts. I remember cheering her on in
marathons when we were younger. We even took a road trip to watch her run in
the Boston Marathon.
It wasn’t until after high school that I started
running. I wanted to stay fit and healthy so I decided to go for a run. It wasn’t
very far, probably only one mile, but it was a start. You have to start
somewhere. I remember how proud I was, I remember calling my mom saying “I just
ran a mile!”…looking back she was probably thinking umm ok Amber, one mile? But
she said she was proud of me and encouraged me to run more. Each time I laced
up my shoes I pushed myself to run farther and farther. I finally felt the “runner’s
high”. I think it was about four miles, which now doesn’t seem far to me, but
back then that was a huge accomplishment. I felt so good and I felt like I could
run forever. The rest is history…I started training with my mom and I ran three
½ marathons until I finally decided to train for my first full marathon. I ran
the Twin Cities Marathon with my mom in 2009. That is when I got my tattoo. I wanted
to remember how much running was a part of my life and how alive and free I feel
when I run.
 |
| Me and my mom after my FIRST half marathon (the Monster Dash) |
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| My mom and me after the "Get in Gear" 1/2 Marathon |
Soon I got the guts to join the track team at my
school, Hamline University. I learned a lot from my coach and teammates and I
fell in love with running all over again. This was a different aspect of
running because it wasn't just running for fun, it was running…RACING... for
competition and for our team and for our school. I trained hard and improved a lot. I gained so
many friendships through running on a team. Joining track at Hamline was one of the best decisions
of my life.
Senior year I joined cross country, which is by far
the most physically and mentally challenging sports I have ever participated
in. And I thought hockey was a tough sport…cross country is CRAZY intense.
 |
| Having fun with some teammates at a home track meet |
 |
| Cross Country- MIAC conference meet |
The thing about running is that anyone can do it.
You just need yourself and some running shoes. You just need some motivation to
get out there and try it. It is so peaceful and it is so good for you. No
matter how fast, slow, far, short of a run you go on, it doesn’t matter, it is
still an amazing thing you can do for yourself. God gave us legs and a body to
take care of. I never want to take that for granted.
I don’t think I will ever stop running. I don’t run
the high mileage I was running when I was on a team but I still try and get out
for a run at least 4-5 days a week. Tim even runs with me now :) it is great. I enjoy running alone, with others, with music, without music..it doesn’t
really matter. I always come back happy that I went. When you run alone it
gives you a chance to clear your mind, enjoy nature, work out your body, find
yourself, forget about your everyday worries, and life seems to slow down for a little bit. Sometimes I even like to pray and have a conversation with God when I run.
Anyways, I know I rambled quite a bit but I can’t
help it, I am just so passionate about running. I’m going to be that mom out
there with the jogging stroller :)
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| My friend Asha and I running at the cross country regional meet |
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| Tim and I after my 2nd marathon this past fall 2011 |
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| My niece Scarlet :) |
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| My cross country team! |
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| some of my beautiful teammates :) |
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| Running the Monster Dash on Halloween |
I hope at least one person who reads this gets
inspired to lace up their shoes and go out for a run today :)
Enjoy and God Bless!
Xoxo,
Amber
Xoxo,
Amber
