Growing up my father was an avid runner. However, with age he slowly stopped running and adopted a mantra: "The only way you'll see me running now is if someone is chasing me.... and they better be a hell of a lot bigger than me at that!" And as I began childhood sports, my father would also offer words of encouragement like: "C'mon kid, get the piano off your back!"
I have been consistently running now for two years (except a doctor and wife ordered 2 month break for a hernia surgery) and the good news is that I have managed to do so without anyone chasing me. The bad news though, is that I am still lugging that piano around on my back! Over the years I had tried to take up running on several occasions, but it always seemed to end within a few weeks or months mostly due to sore knees or hips. This was probably in part because of my ego and my attempt to run every day at a ridiculous pace each time I started.
I have been an athlete my entire life, so two years ago I made the painful decision to give it one more try. With my wedding on the horizon and the need to lose about 30 pounds so I wouldn't look like an Oompa Loompa in a tux, I told myself I would only take up this laborious endeavor for the 6 months leading up to the big day. I enlisted the help of a great friend and avid runner and together we started with what seemed like the impossible task of running 3 days a week for 3 miles. Let's make this much clear; I did NOT fall in love with running instantly. However, as the weeks turned to months my body reacted well to the slow start and I began to enjoy the runs and even came to the point where I craved them. On a whim I signed up for a half marathon and when I finished that race with a "blazing" time of 2:07 the euphoria I felt captured me.
When I look back on my introduction to the "running world", I now realize that it would have been impossible to forge this love affair without the sense of this running community around me. Having fellow runners to talk, or complain to and having someone on a run with me to take my mind off of the pain made it possible for me to reach a place where I can't imagine my life without running. Embracing this sense of community around running has also allowed me to understand that I am not the only one to experience many of the quirky things that happen before, during or after runs and that maybe, just maybe, I'm not the only one who has to run with toilet paper in his pocket!
As I said before, I have always been an athlete, but even more accurately, I have always been a competitor. As I get older, I find that it gets more difficult to compete in certain sports with the younger athletes, but with running I have found the most ideal person to compete with... myself. Running allows me the opportunity to seek PRs or even simple milestones like when I ran for the 8th day in a row last night. But more importantly, it also allows me to break from the competition when I need to and just run for enjoyment, to clear my head, to strengthen friendships or to create new ones.
I am never going to be an elite runner, but I know that because of running I will always have an astounding running community surrounding me and when necessary, that worthy competitor in myself.
Here, here! very well put... To be fair, I had noticed that two years ago, you seemed to have a grand piano strapped to your back, but, now its more like an accordion.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. When I run I need to bring toilet paper with me.
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