Why all the running?

I spend a lot of time while running, thinking about why I run.
In a nutshell; its because I can.

I know I’m lucky to have legs that work, that can take me where ever I want to go. They may not be fast or particularly coordinated, but they work.
For that I am really grateful.
There may be a time in my life where they stop working, or won’t take me as far, but for now I choose to celebrate by climbing mountains, running in circles around lake Burley Griffin and wearing way too much pink.

I sign up for these things because I want to know that I can do them, and dare I say I often enjoy it. But not all the time.

The first half-an-hour of running is shit. I hate it. My legs beg me to stop, they protest by being more uncoordinated than usual; my mind screams at me to go home, watch tv, eat some ice cream, bacon, chocolate fudge, – heck you can have all three together just stop running!
But then something happens… I let go. I plod along looking at the trees, the birds, the little bunny rabbits, thinking about nothing in particular, smiling at people and enjoying the moment. I stop thinking about work, recovery methods, my training plan, my time/speed/distance and let my mind wander.

Let go and all suffering will cease.
I always struggled with this Buddhist concept but running has helped. I think the Oatmeal sums up the journey to running Nirvana the best with his Blergh comic: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

Scars of honour

One of my most popular blogs thus far has been Divorce Porn, where I discussed breakups and dished some dirt on what my ex’s have advised me in the past. (Perhaps criticism is a better descriptor than advice.) The moral of the story being that if I tried to please everyone, and be the person everyone wanted me to be, I simply couldn’t. (Or I’d be diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.) My mother’s response was quoting popeye “I yam what I yam,” but I prefer Shakespeare “above all else, to thyne own self by true.”

I’m confident in myself and confident with who I am. (Perhaps that’s why I can write such personal thoughts on my blog.) The first rule of marketing is you can’t appeal to everyone, define your market, your target audience, ensure you appeal to that market and then differentiate yourself from the competition. My target audience is people who like me for me, so that pretty much solves itself…

I’m not perfect, but I’m not striving for perfection. I’m simply being me and having fun doing it. My body is for me to use, I want to follow the F1 example. If the wheels fall off, the fuel runs out and the engine blows up as you cross the finish line, you’ve engineered it perfectly and driven like a legend! Plus multiple organ failure usually provides a good reason to not resuscitate.

I have scars on my body from use and I see them as badges of honor and memories. This is where I fell over in the Himalayas! This is from a fin cut surfing North Shore Hawaii! This is an exhaust burn from riding dirt bikes on Stockton beach! This is from rock climbing without ropes! This callous is from getting my trade! This is where I got drunk in high school and set myself on fire! This is from kneeling on a sea urchin while scuba diving! This is where someone on ice skates ran over my hand! This is where I got bitten by a snake! …Some are more impressive than others…

But right now everyone is slowly dying and getting a little older. This is the youngest you will ever be, forever more. This is the least wrinkly my skin will ever be, the highest my tits will be and the least cellulite I will have. I’m sure in 5-10 -20 years time I will look back at photos of you now and say, “damn I looked good then!” and you will too, APPRECIATE IT NOW!

But most importantly this is the highest potential level of fitness you will ever be, both mentally and physically. Don’t think tomorrow you will climb that mountain or learn that new skill. Go and do it now! I repeat, NOW is the youngest you will ever be, forever more.

My point is make sure you are true to yourself and appreciate how amazing your body is. If someone in your life wants you to change who you are for them, they obviously don’t understand just how awesome you are.

March 2012