Reflections on Why I Run

I find running to bevery cathartic. I can purge myself of the everyday stresses of life even with just a short two mile run, but there is nothing more cathartic than an hour or longer run. It wasn't always this way. Before the age of 46 I never ran as a regular routine. Up until the mid 30's I played softball and flag football so running was involved, but I never really considered myself a runner. In the early 80's I read Dr Cooper's book, "Aerobics."

I remember thinking to myself that I should start running regularly, so I went out to run a 12 minute fitness test to see what kind of shape I was in. I remember that I ran about 1.75 miles in that 12 minute test. According to the chart in Dr. Cooper's book that put me in the excellent category. I was pretty proud of myself but still not motivated enough to start a regular program of running.

As time went on my wife and I had children. Work and family life began to slow down my sports life to some extent and my junk food diet began to catch up with me. This would have been the perfect time to incorporate a regular running regimen of at least 3 miles 3 days a week to maintain fitness. However I started spending more and more time on the couch in front of the TV eating things like pizza and ice cream and less and less time doing anything to do with sports or fitness. Eventually, after going back to school full time and working full time I had ballooned up to 212 pounds.

After I graduated I decided that I had to do something, and that is when I started training to run a marathon. You can read more on that in my first post on this blog. At first running was a real effort. When you are as out of shape as I was when I started, it takes a lot of effort to push yourself out the door to run. Running never becomes effortless but going strait from the couch to running takes a lot of effort. After the first three weeks of running I began to notice that I could run farther faster than when I had started. This was very encouraging to see. That progress gave me the impetus to continue.

So as many of you know I went on to finish my first marathon and have now finished 20 marathons. I look at running as having saved my life. I think I would become very depressed if I were not able to continue running. I find that having goals is a great motivator. I may never set any new PR's for myself but I can always set a goal for particular race.  Then again there is still the outside chance that I may be able to set a new PR.

Recently as I begin to think that PR's in marathons and lesser distance races are a thing of the past I have been contemplating the idea of running ultras. For those who don't know an ultra race is generally any race distance beyond 26.2 miles. However, there are those who don't really consider a race distance as ultra until 50 miles or more.  I remember when contemplating 26.2 miles was hard to imagine but now I can actually visualize myself running 50 miles or more. The only real problem to that is keeping myself under control so as not to do too much too soon. You see I have the tendency to push my training to the point of injury. If I can avoid injury I can certainly set some new records for myself as far as ultra distance running is concerned.

One of the great things about ultra running is that most of the time these races are done mostly off road away from the hustle and bustle of the street. I love trail running because I can more easily lose myself in the surrounding wonder of nature. It gives me a greater sense of enjoyment from my running than just running the same old courses all the time. Running in general has become a kind of sanctuary where I can go and find myself. I can do some introspection and then when I get back to the so called, "Real World," I am much more relaxed.

I do most of my running by myself. That is, not alongside other runners. Not that I don't enjoy running with others, as I do enjoy both.  It is just that I really enjoy being alone sometimes while running. When I run with others I don't have as much time for my own thoughts.  Even when I do run with others I am probably not considered the most stimulating of conversationalists!

Running has simply become a part of my lifestyle and it is such a part of my life that to not be able to run is a horrible feeling. Whenever illness or injury sideline me I find that I become anxious, and sometimes downright irritable with others. Running is something I hope to continue for the rest of my life. For some people, dieing in their sleep is the perfect way to leave this planet. I'm not planning on leaving this world anytime soon, but if and when I do, a run in the hills would be the perfect way to go. Just like Caballo Blanco!