Running Helps You Rise to New Heights

We runners are a strange bunch.  We get up before the sunrise to get in our training runs.  When we miss a run we feel like we failed in some way.  Our entire life is tied to our running, training and work outs.  Our non-running friends just don't get it.  They question our sanity.  When they say that they don't like running or they cannot imagine running more than a  mile at any given time, we always respond that anyone can run.  Perhaps that is not true for everyone we meet.

We know that most people fail to find they joy of running because they find it simply too hard and painful.  This is due in part to the fact that most people start out too fast and increase their intensity too quickly.  Then when they encounter difficulties they make the rash decision that they are just not cut out for running. Once they come to this conclusion they end up with a negative attitude towards running and quit.  Nothing will convince them to come back and try again.

Training and working out is not just about changing our body.  It more about changing our minds.  Training is a way to find resources within us to meet the physical challenges in front of us.  We train our minds to harbor both hope and courage in the face of adversity.  Our training is about lifting ourselves to heights we could not have previously imagined.  We make our body rise up.   We awaken within ourselves both wonder and depth of strength we didn't know we had. 

We can never dismiss the challenge as trivial.  When we are confronted by doubt, we can rely on the training we have put in to bring power to overcome any obstacle before us.  We can gain comfort from the fact that it doesn't matter what others expect of us.  Instead, we can reach down and find a voluntary response from within us to meet what we expect of ourselves.

I remember when I started running back in 1985,  I wasn't sure that I could run more than a mile.  It seemed like each year I could run a little further.  Unbeknownst to me my mind was changing and pushing my body to new heights.  I started to seek greater challenges and distances.  As I ticked off each distance in a race, I became more confident in my ability to do anything I put my mind to.  Here I am 33 years later a committed runner who craves greater challenges.  I feel so proud when I finish a particularly hard race no matter what my finishing time.  I have truly found a deep seated strength of will I didn't know I had when I ran that first mile so long ago.

When I now tell friends that they too can find joy in running, I explain that if they take it slow their body and mind will change and grow stronger.  Anyone can become a runner.  All they need to do is take that first step.  Shortly thereafter they realize that running is like life.  There will be days when they  feel like an Olympic champion as well as workouts or runs that humble them to their core.  If they stick with it, they will get better with time and effort.

Any runner that can stay the course and not quit when they have a humbling experience will find solitude in running. I promise that every runner will ultimately find peace, energy and motivation.  If you are like me you will find that some of your best ideas and solutions to life's problems will come to you as you run.  Running frees your mind from all of the detritus that life throws at you.  Running transforms you both physically and mentally.  Just give it a chance and you too will rise up to heights you never expected to reach.

Mar 5 – 4.10 miles (44:38, 10:53 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 6 – 6.30 miles (54:11, 8:36 pace) – Speed work
Mar 8 – 8.20 miles (1:13:12, 8:55 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar 9 – 4.10 miles (37:55, 9:15 pace)
Mar 10 – 10.10 miles (1:32:49, 9:12 pace)
Mar 11 – 7.50 miles (1:10:40, 9:25 pace)
Mar 12 – 4.10 miles (48:08, 11:44 pace) – Hill Repeats
Mar 13 – 8.30 miles (1:13:14, 8:49 pace) – Tempo Run
Mar 15 – 6.30 miles (54:09, 8:36 pace) – Speed work
Mar 16 – 8.10 miles (1:16:05, 9:23 pace)
Mar 17 – 6.20 miles (55:42, 8:59 pace)
Mar 18 – 9.30 miles (1:34:40, 10:11 pace)

Total Miles:  82.6 miles
2018 Total Miles:  299.7 miles