Running Reality Check.

Let's face the facts, most of us weekend warriors and fun runners are never going to break into the Olympics.  We will never win any major races and we will never compete against the worlds best.  None of those stark reminders will ever stop us from running.  I don't run because I want to win races (maybe when I was 18...now not so much), I run because I can, because I love it.  There is something incredibly liberating and uplifting about putting feet to pavement.  There is something inherently primal about running freely with nowhere to go and nowhere to be.  The sound of your breath, the pumping of your heart, and the sweat dripping from your nose.

As a kid I remember just running, it didn't matter what shoes you had on, what clothes you were wearing we just ran because we could.  We ran while we played, hustling through the brush in the woods playing war.  Chasing each other for hours during a game of tag or capture the flag.  We didn't do it to keep in shape, we did it because it was better than getting caught and becoming "it."  One of the things I am realizing in my "old age" of 33 is that I am not going to be winning any races any time soon.  Maybe if I keep this up long enough and run into my senior years I will be able to win some geezer classes at local 5k's...then again all those faster people from younger days will probably still be able to outrun me then too.

This whole blog/thought process came about the other day when I was getting ready to run...yeah getting ready is what I have sunk to.  It's becoming a process just to get out the door and do something I love.   Shorts, tech shirt, socks, shoes, ipod, sunglasses, and a garmin watch.  Walk out the door, music on check, watch turned on check, searching for satellites...searching...searching...searching.  I walk/jog aimlessly up and down the street waiting for the signal.  The music is sporadic sometimes I love the song sometimes I feel like I skip 4 or 5 in a row because I am just not "feeling" that song today.   When all the stars align and the satellites talk to the watch and the ipod plays my favorite songs I do get a little caught up in the run...but most days I find myself getting home and obsessing about times or splits.  What can I do to get faster or run longer or lose more weight.  Why can't I just turn off the competitive side of my brain and just run?  Well?  Why can't I...

I've decided that I need some mindless stat free, music free, satellite free, gear free runs.  I need to incorporate  runs into my schedule that are just that, Runs...and nothing else.  I just need shoes, socks, shorts, and a tee.  Walk out the door and just run, when my breathing and pace dictate it speed up, when they don't slow down.  Take time to pause and watch nature around me, take in the sights, sounds and smells of the run.  Enjoy the simple pleasure of noticing the sweat, hypnotizing myself with the rhythmic sounds of my breath.  Getting lost in the gentle patter of my shoes on the pavement, forget the watch, forget the time, sing my own song and just run.

Sure the timed runs at times are important especially if you are training for a race or have a goal that you want to achieve...but some days it just needs to be about the run and nothing else.  Because if I can't just get out and run because I love it, then why am I doing this at all?