Running Away

At some point we need to transition from running away to running towards.

Why did you get into running?  Was it to discover something about yourself?  Was it to find some new truth?  Chances are it was not a journey towards self-discovery at first. Chances are you were running away.

You were running away from a fatter unhealthy version of yourself.  You were running away from the stress of an inactive life.  You used running as a crutch, a salve and an escape.  You began small and then discovered that you had found a friend and a confidant.

In some of us it becomes an addiction even.  Our running takes over our lives and blots out the other things.  Our training crowds out temperance and relationships.  It verges on a destructive habit and a taskmaster.  We run the risk of becoming enslaved.

As we age and the performances can no longer be achieved we grope for replacements.  We run more.  We run longer. Instead of faster.  We wrap ourselves in the society of the sport and build a sandcastle of false gods by hoping that running quantity can replace the goodness of those first couple hits.

At some point we have to stop this running away.  At some point we have to pull ourselves back from the fire and decide what we are going to run towards.  How do we kindle the flame that burned in our running soul but tame it to keep our hearth?

The way as with all things is first to find our center.  To find the place of peace within our mental dustbins.  To realize that sense of self that allows us to do all things, even this.  To ask better questions.

A question like “how can I get faster?” is a paradox.  There is no end point to that quest.  A better question is how do I construct a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle with running as my partner in life?

For those of you beginning your running journey don’t be afraid to test the edges but realize that you can go too far.  Running, like alcohol or heroin can’t fill all the empty places in your soul.  Running can mask the pain that you are running away from but you need to use this breathing space to discover what you are running towards.

Your goal, as I have always warned you, is not your next race or your next PR.  Your goal is to have a good and worthy journey.

For you mid-career runners who have found your strength and are setting those PR’s and conquering those distances sit down and celebrate it.  Every one of those marathons that you fume away from convinced you could have done better if you had only trained harder and longer are a gift.  Take them as a gift and enjoy and celebrate each one.

There will come a time where those achievements are unattainable.  If you celebrate these achievements you can look back on them as times of joy instead of times of difficulty.  Take the time to celebrate each race and each day of training with the gift of running.

For you veterans sliding off the back sides of your career keep moving.  Find each new chapter’s sweet spot and revel in it.  We are gods.  We are gifted.  We run with a golden glow because we know what it is to try, to strive, to do, to achieve and to celebrate.

I know this sounds a bit new-agey or maybe even a tad morose but it’s not.  I’m saying to that you have found a successful balance with your sport when you can look at the journey as a whole and smile upon it.

That’s when you will be running towards something and you can stop running away.