The Mother of All Relays, Part III
I bet you thought you were done, didn't you? That yesterday's exhaustive post about my exhausting race would be the end of boring chatter about running, right? But sorry. I have one more post, not so much about Hood to Coast I guess, but about running in general. Then we'll let it go for awhile and move on to more interesting posts about poop and such.
A friend of mine commented on one of the Hood to Coast pictures I posted on Facebook, saying that she just could not see the enjoyment in running. And I get that. I used to hate it myself. It's hard. It causes all kinds of aches and pains. You get all sweaty and gross. It takes time out of your day when you could be reading or hanging out with your family or even sleeping. (Sleep! Totally overrated, right?)
So I thought about it for awhile, and decided that I like running for two reasons. Neither of them are very profound reasons about how running "centers me" or makes me a better person, or how I just feel so serene and one with nature out on a long run. No, these are honest, selfish reasons. Here you go.
Reason 1: Vanity. It helps me not get fat. If I don't exercise a lot, I gain weight a lot. I love food--I'm not one of those people who gets tired of sweets after awhile. I could sit down and eat cookies all day long and be very, very happy. Running helps me keep that situation in check.
Reason 2: Pride. When I get out of bed early, forsaking sleep, and go run a long, long ways, I feel proud of myself. When I sign up for a race and beat my own time, I'm proud of myself. That's the thing about running--it's competitive, but you're competing against yourself just as much as you are other people. You can always get better, always run farther and faster than you have before. There's always something new to conquer. And when I do manage to run farther or faster, I don't feel like a 30-year-old housewife. I feel like a strong, confident athlete. (Then I look at the photos of myself mid-race and am brought back to reality, but at least I enjoy my dream for awhile). Posting (aka bragging) about my accomplishments on Facebook and my blog and getting all those nice comments about how impressed people are certainly doesn't hurt either, but let's try to ignore the uncomfortably narcissistic nature of those things for now and move on, shall we?
What it all comes down to is that running makes me feel good. When I set myself a goal that seems impossibly hard and then I actually meet that goal? It does wonders for my self-esteem.
Which is why, for my 30th birthday, my present to myself was signing up for the Portland Marathon. Which is coming up really, really quickly, and I'm not quite sure I'm going to be ready, and I'm feeling a little scared. I guess we'll find out just how much this goal-accomplishment stuff actually means to me then.
Twenty-six miles. In a little over a month. Can I do it? I guess I'll find out.
5 comments:
Thirty-seven days--but who's counting, right? Your experiences (and others', too) have convinced me that I need to do HTC next year. So, look for me out on the road! If you and Eric ever come up here, on a whim, to run the waterfront loop in Portland, please do let me know. It would be great to run with family.
And I completely agree with every reason you gave for running. Except the housewife part..
ROCK ON, WonderWoman!!!
I love that you identified your reasons and didn't mind sharing them.
I hear ya, Jen! Many times while I'm out on a run and I hit the point where I'm hating it, I think, "It's so silly that people tell me they hate running. Everyone hates to feel like this! But it's worth it!" I hate the thought of not being able to run. Thanks for your posts on the Hood to Coast. I'm greatly intrigued and seriously want to do it now! Maybe someday we can do it together!!
You can totally do it Jen! Can't wait to see the pics from a marathon next!!!
@ Robert: That would be fun! If we do ever happen to get up to Portland to run, we'll let you know.
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