Sweat everywhere. Heart beating in the chest. Blisters on feet. Exhaustion.

Those are just a few of the components that come with running. The outcome? It's up to the person putting one foot in front of the other.

Why do I run? I used to love it, then I hated it. Now I am at the point of indecision. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I have a plan; I know I'm going to get a good run in. Other days it's noon, I'm laying in bed watching Netflix and dreading the thought of putting on my sneakers. People always say, "Once you get up and workout you'll feel better after." That definitely can be true, but when it's sweltering outside, you can't breathe and you didn't reach your goal, you can feel like complete shit. Hey, at least ya did it! That's what the optimistic nonrunners say.

Me? I am a pessimistic athlete. I am not glad that I woke up today and thinking there is always tomorrow. When I don't get up, put on deodorant, take my inhaler and get outside, I feel guilt. It's on my mind and in my muscles.

I started running and enjoying it last summer. I was single, it was going to be my senior year in college, and I had to get ready for my lacrosse season. My goal for the summer was to run 5 miles. I accomplished 5.25 in about an hour and never felt better. My feet were scolding, my thighs were scabbed, but my blood was running through my body and it felt great. I collapsed on the cold tile in my house and soaked it all in.

Unfortunately, some people are addicted to drugs, alcohol or self-harm. Others are addicted to running, the high that one gets after they just completed five miles in less than an hour. There is a zone you're in when you just pass out on the floor and feel your pulse all throughout your body. It's mesmerizing and frightening and amazing.

Thanks to that feeling, and the desire to be the best, I decided to join the cross country team at my school. I give those runners nothing but credit. They work their asses off every single day. Not only did we run long distances, but we did sprint workouts too. It was torture, but a lot of us loved everything about it.

There are many words to describe the feeling before, during and after a run, but no one can completely comprehend the sensation until they get up and experience it themselves.

Whether running is an escape, an accomplishment, a leisure activity or a punishment, it is something that I must do. Not always for the beach body or the conditioning or the race, but for the inexplicable awareness that comes with it.