Friday, December 7, 2012

Soul Food

When you hear someone mention soul food there is a good chance they are talking about ham hocks, chitlins, hush puppies and collard greens cooked in fatback.  (As a vegetarian, I have to admit that even just typing the word fatback makes me throw up a little in my mouth.)

However, I think of soul food as something that simply feeds my soul.  It could be anything from church to yoga to trail running to a much-needed lazy afternoon nap.  [I was going to add that soul food could be a relaxing afternoon with my kids but since two of my kids are toddlers, it seems like an oxymoron to even suggest it...]

Love my littlest ones...but would never describe any time with them as "relaxing"

All those things I listed above are things that feed my soul.  When doing any one of those activities, I can literally almost feel my soul being filled up again.  What it fills me with is a feeling of gratitude for my life and all the good things in it.  It restores my lost faith, happiness, patience, love and confidence in myself and in others.  It gives me passion to go out and live my life purposefully.

***

Last Saturday I was scheduled to run 8 miles as the first day of training for the Boston marathon.  On the Friday before my run,  a friend emailed to ask if I wanted to join her for 15 miles on Sunday instead.  Hmmm...let's see...run 8 miles by myself or run 15 with a friend...  Is there really any choice here?!  Of course, I chose to run with a friend even though it meant almost doubling my mileage and would be the longest run (by quite a bit) since my early June marathon.

I should mention that this friend, Amanda, is someone I had only met a couple of months ago and had run with only once before.

I went to bed at a decent hour on Saturday night and was hoping for a good night's sleep before our run.  Unfortunately, that was the night I couldn't fall asleep for hours and then was awoken not once and not twice but three times by my little ones.  I slept so horribly that I seriously considered canceling on Amanda before realizing how much that would mess up my running schedule.  And, thanks to my sympathetic husband taking the kids out to breakfast by himself, I was able to eat some cereal and drink my coffee in peace while mentally preparing to run.

As I headed to the waterfront to meet Amanda, I finally looked up and noticed we were going to be blessed with blue skies.  My mood began to improve and I started getting excited to run.  I parked the car and walked to our meeting spot.  Within minutes, Amanda arrived with her big smile and her sunny disposition that matched the weather.  We waited for our Garmins to find their satellite signals and we were off!

The next 15 miles just flew by as we talked about everything from running to our kids to Christmas presents to things we had shared with almost no one else.  That's right.  On our second run ever (and first one where it was just the two of us), I was able to tell Amanda things that I have shared with only a handful of people in my entire life.  After our run, I drove home with a big smile on my face and the feeling that my soul was full once again.

I have spent the last few days thinking about how amazing it is that we can connect with other (for me, it is women) runners in a way that is unique to how we interact with everyone else.  I may see the same moms at school drop-off every day for a year and not have nearly the same level of closeness as I do after one long run with someone else.

***

Now go back in time to 2003.  I was training for the NYC marathon.  As with most of my training, I was doing all the runs by myself.  Speed work, tempo run, recovery run, long run...whatever it was, I was out there alone putting in the requisite miles.  One weekend, I decided on a whim to run with a group of runners who were training for the Portland marathon.  I didn't know a single person who was running that day but they had 18 miles on the schedule so I showed up ready to run.  We split up into various pace groups and headed out on the road.  About halfway into our run, there were four of us that were running together.  Not a single one of us knew each other before that day.

Fast forward 9 years and three of us are best friends today and the fourth is still someone I keep in touch with (and who has become an excellent chiropractor here in Portland -- I highly recommend her).  All as a result of that one single run.  I can't imagine my life without these women.  We bonded one morning over trails and toilet paper and gatorade and gu...and my life has never been the same since.


My peeps.  In Florida to celebrate my wedding.  LOVE their smiles and laughter.
LOVE.

***

I love to run.  I love neighborhood runs and trail runs and even treadmill runs.  I love what running does for my body, my mind and my health.  But above all those things, I love running for how it feeds my soul.  I love the instant bond it gives me with others and the relationships that have been formed as a result of my running.  I am continually amazed by the richness that running adds to my life.

I feel so blessed to have the gift of running and I hope to enjoy the soul food it provides to me for many years to come.

What is your soul food?  Have you made life-long friends through running?  

- Kristen

16 comments:

  1. What a story about the run that led to new best friends. I love it. I would say running is definitely my soul food too!

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    1. Looking forward to meeting you on Monday, Carissa!! And, of course, to running with you someday soon, too. :)

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  2. Love LOVE this post so much! I feel exactly the same way. Top to bottom, beginning to end... you said it perfectly. I'm always amazed at how quickly deep connections are formed on long runs. I joined a running group a little over a year ago, just after it formed. I was stepping out of my comfort zone in so many ways and after one run, I almost never went out again with them. Fortunately I pushed myself to go and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I have formed such close friendships with so many people in our ever grwing group, people who I am fairly certain I would not have become friends with otherwise. Running has been so freeing for me and my soul. Soul Food sums it up so well! So glad you wrote this! And so happy that you get so much from running. Aren't we a lucky bunch?!

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    1. Yes, we are SO lucky! I couldn't agree more. Happy to hear you feel the same way and that you have a running group where you have made so many good friends. Love your comment that running has been "so freeing for me and my soul". I'd be lying if I said I felt that way on Every.Single.Run but I certainly feel that way on more runs than not.

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  3. This is such a great post! You write beautifully and the way you describe running truly resonates with me. I was nodding my head as I read every word.

    I feel like you and Amanda are kindred spirits. I just know we would have so much to talk about in real life. Your run sounds so incredible and perfectly described as food for the soul.

    So, I am sad to report that we just cancelled our trip to Portland. After four years, Angela and I have decided to separate. We thought it was best to cancel our trip even though we still love each other and I'm sure we would still have a wonderful time together. I'll be headed back to Chicago instead to spend time with my family. I was so, so, so looking forward to running with you! In fact, I think that is the part of our trip I was MOST excited about, believe it or not.

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    1. Thanks for your kind words, Kate. And, yes, we would have so much to talk about in "real life". You and I already have so much in common that we could be kindred spirits, too. :)

      I am so sorry to hear about you and Angela. I'll send you a private message on FB... And I'm so bummed that you cancelled your trip but we will meet for sure in Boston! And now I'm just going to have to convince you to visit Portland in the summer when I know you will really fall in love with it here!! xo

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  4. Kristen, those were some of the best miles of my life! Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Again, this is so IRONIC!! One of my best girlfriends in Portland and I met running. We have a mutual friend back in TN where we are both from, and we were supposed to meet a long time ago. Finally, when we met about 6 months ago, I texted her randomly and asked her if she wanted to go for a 20 mile run. I was training for the Portland Marathon at the time. So she said yes (hilarious because who just jumps at the chance to do a 20 miler?) and we didn't stop talking for the entire run on the Wildwood Trail. It was so beautiful, an automatic bond. We text all through the work week and get together just about every weekend that we can now. It's an amazing thing, really, the strength of the relationships made during those long miles. I think she and I are going to be friends forever, even if we don't always live close. Great post and I can really relate to this one.

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    1. Ha! Love that your friend jumped at the chance to go for a 20 mile run...and that neither of us actually think that is crazy. :) And so great that you formed a beautiful, automatic bond. I love, love hearing about stories like that!

      I'm sure you will always be friends forever no matter where you live and if you are both still running or not. Hope to run with you one day, too!! Maybe on Wildwood!

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  6. Just came across your blog from Mom's little running buddy, and I love your description of soul food! Amanda seems so genuine and sweet from her blog, glad you could meet up with her.
    I'm glad I found another running mama. :)

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    1. Laura, thanks for commenting and so happy you can relate to this post, too! Yes, Amanda is as sweet and genuine in person as she is in her blog. I am adding you to my blog roll now so I can follow you on your journey, too. :)

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  7. Ah, love this! Thank you. Our run together was soul food to me too...I'm amazed at how free I feel telling you things too. thank you for this. More to say when I have more time...still in MN but had to get here real quick. Love your writing Kristen. Love your blog. your thoughts, your pictures, your words. Can't wait to run together again!

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    1. I am pretty sure your soul is going to be overflowing after your weekend, Amanda! Love your writing, blog, thoughts, pictures, words and SMILE, too! Looking forward to the next time we run again...hopefully soon. :)

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  8. I have yet to find friends through running... I'm a little slow and just running around my kids' schedules (and my husband's and my schedules). Maybe something like that is in my future!

    Soul food... hmmm... I think I have lots of them!
    Lasagna with garlic bread
    Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

    These aren't the same kinds of soul food I'll find in Detroit or in New Orleans (YUM!), but they are foods that feed my soul!

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    1. Stephanie, it can be hard and take a long time to find good running friends. Just be patient and one day it will work out for you! In fact, I still do almost all of my running alone due to schedule issues and the fact that two of the three women I mentioned above don't run with me anymore. (One lives in Albuquerque now and the other has sciatica issues that pretty much keep her from running.) I do love when I get to run with someone, though, as it is such a blessing!

      Those foods sound fabulous! Grilled cheese and tomato soup is my favorite winter dinner when I have nothing else in the house. So yummy!

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