Ran 8 miles on the trail I will be running on for a 25k trail race October 31. Was a sneak preview event. Energy was low starting out but I got a second wind and really picked up the pace at the end. Felt good to run fast. Hadn't ran this week. Have felt so zapped, down and anxious. Was dreading the 60 mile drive to the event. Driving makes me anxious. I made it though. Focused on keeping my muscles relaxed. Made a conscious effort not to grip the steering wheel too tight and to breathe slowly. Had the option to carpool but I wanted to get there myself so I would stop dreading driving there race day. Now that I have drove there once I'm not as afraid. Also wanted to drive because I hate feeling limited by my fear of driving. I want to defeat it. I aspire to be a confident driver. A few years ago I wouldn't have even considered driving 60 miles to run around for 15 miles with a crowd of people. If getting there hadn't gave me a panic attack just being around a bunch of people would have sent me into a panic attack. Crowds aren't a issue anymore. Little by little the fear list is growing smaller. I'm a work in progress but I guess everyone is. Two years ago I was 50 lbs heavier and the maid of honor at a friends wedding. I got lost on the way to her wedding and had a panic attack. Had to stop somewhere to recollect myself so I could drive. Showed up late, frazzled and embarrassed. Wasn't long after that I started eating right, exercising and running. Running has seemed to dramatically reduce the amount of panic attacks. I have only had 6 this year. I use to have about that many a month. There is a quote I like and think about a lot because I find it so fitting, "The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am." --George Sheehan, M.D., former RW columnist | 