It’s Valentine’s Day.  A whole day dedicated to romance, relationships and spending your hard earned cash on over priced candy and embarrassing cards…and love. 

I’ve been thinking about how to tie Valentine’s into the blog and what to focus on.  Running and relationships?  I could write a book, never mind a blog post, on that one.  What to buy your running Valentine?  I just wrote a similar post before Christmas.  I even considered giving up on any original content and sharing a bunch of the fun links that have been shared this week about dating a runner, dating a triathlete, Valentine’s for runners, etc, but I wasn’t excited about any of the topics.

Then yesterday, as I sat on the couch on yet another snowy Boston day, I came across this piece on RunnersWorld.com by Lauren Fleshman.  If you haven’t already seen it read it now and then read her blog post Keeping It Real. I found the piece and her honest photos so inspiring that I suddenly realized what message I wanted to send my readers today.

I do it all the time – pick and choose the best photos to post on Facebook or Instagram, especially race photos (what is that face I’m making?!) but if we are ‘keeping it real’ than we can’t decide what particular image we want to show the world everyday.  We have to be okay with who we really are.

For me, this has never come especially easy but when I started running I found a new confidence and love for myself that I never had in my younger years.  Sure, running keeps me in shape and I’m happy with the way that I look (most of the time) but more importantly, it makes me feel strong and proud.  I love how I feel about myself when I run.  I love the pride I get from accomplishing a goal like a new personal best or crossing the finish line.  I feel lucky that I have this way of channeling that important self love because I know not everyone can access it for themselves.  

If today is about love – find a way to show it not just for your partner, family or friends, but also for yourself.  Your true self, not just the chosen, edited or photoshopped version.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!