Bold Moves

Think of the best relationship you have; the one where you love someone deeply, unconditionally, and forever.  That’s real love.  We use the term “love” a bit loosely in the way we talk today.  We love an outfit, we love a movie or TV show, we love a meal, we love a particular car, vacation trip, you name it and someone has probably said that they love it.  But that’s not the real use of the word, love.  The real use is the vision I asked you to put in your mind — long lasting, unconditional, selfless, caring, passionate, forgiving.

Why do I bring that up?  Well, because I love running, in that real way I just described and you’ve been envisioning.  That means I don’t enjoy every minute of it, and sometimes I have runs that are really quite unpleasant.  Overall though, I can say that after every run I feel great and happy that I did it.  When I don’t run, I miss it.  I don’t judge the run.  I don’t blame the run when things don’t feel good. I want to share that because there is a misperception among some that if you say you love to run, then you have genuinely lost your mind.  Running is for most sports, punishment! Or, the thought is that you are happily prancing down the trail, soaking in every joyous second of the run. Truth be told, the love relationship with running is based on mutual respect, enduring the downs and celebrating the highs.  At least, that is how I think of it. 

I race.  Racing is running on steroids.  It’s, for most, competing in an event that you have no hope of winning, yet completing it is the best high ever.  It’s sharing your time and being elated when you PR.  It’s sharing your time and being relieved when you survived some brutal challenge during the race and still finished.  Racing is the ultimate public annoucement that you love to run!  At least, that’s how it is for me.  And of course, the bling.  Race medals are getting glitzier and bigger all the time.  Some are critical of it but I embrace it; I admit that I am a race bling collector.  I remember sharing my 1/2 marathon bling with a non-runner not too long ago.  I went directly to my daughter’s basketball game from the race, so I happily shared the bling which was also a good explanation for why I was in running clothes and probably not smelling that great.  The non-runner said, “Cool medal! What place were you?”  I explained that I didn’t place overall, did respectably in my age group.  I further explained that the medal was for completing the race.  “Oh, so everyone gets a medal JUST for finishing?” he replied with a raised eyebrow. I nodded and he didn’t say another word.  Clearly, he didn’t get it.  Non-runners often don’t get why you would run a race you most likely won’t win and so they certainly wouldn’t understand why you are rewarded for “just finishing.”  Runners get it though.  Every race, like every run, is a personal journey and accomplishment.

Some days I think there’s no way I can continue to run marathons and half marathons.  Other days, I daydream during runs about being 80 years old and still crossing the marathon finish line.  “I love Running” means no matter how my emotions swing, I’m in it for the long haul and I’d rather have running in my life than not have it at all.  I enjoy improving my times, but I don’t get too caught up in it.  I’m thankful that God gave me a strong body and that I can run at all.  

Like the familiar saying, on T-shirts, stickers and social media — “There will be a day when I can no longer run.  Today is NOT that day!”

Keep up to date on my latest training for the upcoming KC Marathon by visiting my blogsite at http://pages.teamintraining.org/mid/kc13/dwihelm