Well, these words have certainly been this past year’s anthem. During the early days of recovery this line was chanted day after day by my boyfriend as he smiled with every step I would take on my crutches. And I would sing these words to sleep as I dreamt of the sun rising, one morning closer to a full recovery.

Well almost one year later and I am walking, spinning and now running. And even though the rest of this post will show you just how strong I am, there is still that little voice of the past that chimes in and makes me sad.

I wont harp on it too long, but with the clearance to run also comes the disappointment that I am not returning to the runner I was up to the moment the accident happened. Running was taken away from me and now I have to start over. It is amazing that I can run again, and I appreciate that ability every moment, but it comes with the pain that I have to work to find my freedom and comfort again.

I know that this this feeling of mourning the past will slowly slip away as I build a new relationship with running, starting with reconnecting from the beginning. This weekend I took a Chi Running workshop to learn how to use my body as efficiently as possible to sustain the least amount of impact. If you are in the Bay Area and want a great teacher take a class from Sally!

Look at me go!

I even took everything I learned and put it to use Monday night:

I was able to use posture and foot placement to run myself down to my good old friend the running path and capture that beautiful neighbor of mine, the Golden Gate Bridge, in the setting sun.

This is where my strength has gotten me and I know I can only continue to rebuild and grow from this point. I just have to make sure that my strength drowns out that mournful voice of the past as I continue to place my feet on the ground faster and faster.