I Am So Lucky (Why I Distance Run)
Yesterday, I stumbled across an article by the New Yorker and it completely stopped me in my tracks and converged on a number of conversations I have been having recently.
All of those little niggling questions about why I do what I do.
Why on EARTH I feel compelled to run stage races, adventure races, distance events and ultras.
Whether I am frustrated with trends that come and go in my sport.
The article was called The Spiritual Life of the Long-Distance Runner and I truly expected it to be another run-of-the-mill article on how running is like meditation and great for your mind and perseverance. Instead, I found myself reading every word to the very end of the article. (This is noteworthy as I’m a notorious skimmer)
The moment of the article that stopped me in my tracks was this:
“I am so lucky” was my race mantra that I stumbled across this year, recounted in my first 48 hour race report.
I found I didn’t need an aggressive statement mustering up internal willpower to push through such as EMBRACE THE SUCK although goodness knows I have had plenty of those. Because I truly believe that when I am in the longer endurance events that pushing your body doesn’t matter as much as controlling your mind. This is why I began searching for the meaning behind what I am doing.
And I found a lot of it. Being able to trek endlessly under a night sky full of stars or run miles and miles of a creek bed or just continuously push upwards on a hill – these are basic reminders that I am healthy, I am here and I am alive. I am lucky. And even though it hurts at the moment that is part of why I am lucky. I have the luxury to choose this or not to choose this.
I think that understanding is power and that is why running makes me a better person. It pushes me outside that comfortable equilibrium and allows me to understand what it means to truly lacking something which is something I never would experience otherwise.
I am currently reading Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau and in it, he explains in more eloquent terms than I ever could WHY I do this:
So in answer to the questions I have been getting lately, THIS is why I do what I do.
Because it’s there.
And because I can be there.
And because I need to be there to feel fully alive.
Why do you run?
PREACH!
yes, I run and I like to run long because I can. They told me I could never run. That I would never be healthy enough or strong enough. Well I am! I am lucky enough to have all of that. And each race reminds me of how far I have come – something I will never stop being grateful for.
I know. I love that “Because I can” can be reason enough.
Hey Jess!
Why do I run? It’s really so much more than simply because I love it. It is the way I feel when I run – and after I run and how fit and strong I feel. I love the social aspect of running with a team and a coach – we get out as a group at least twice a week.
But probably most importantly I run because it has been the biggest help with my anxiety and depression. It has helped me regulate those emotions more effectively than anything else I have tried (well and yoga too 🙂 ) I have my own history with disordered eating and exercise and have spent the last few years really focusing on a positive relationship with myself and that running and exercise is a way to celebrate and reward my body – not to punish myself. Running – especially distance – is like a moving meditation. I really get into a zone and I am calm and my breathing is relax and it just feels so normal and fluid…
I run because I can. I run because I love myself and want to celebrate that with through movement 🙂
Thanks for another super post!
Happy Holidays,
Jes
@Running_Yogi
Beautifully stated. I agree with every word. Although I don’t run as far or as fast, I still feel like I find those places of “I am so lucky”. And that’s why I do it. The same reason goes for when I fill my backpack and canoe and take off for a week…”I am so lucky” (even when it sucks or hurts). Exceptional post, my dear.
And Thoreau is the man.
Good and healthy life.
Congratulations
Ooh this is GOLD! I am so on the page with the being lucky thing, and didn’t actually really feel it until after I finished my half ironman this year. At times throughout, I felt like I couldn’t wait to be done training because it felt like a burden. I’ve learned a ton since then (not just about being lucky) and now, I’m motivated to do it even more. I know a lot of people look at endurance athletes and think we’re crazy, but I think I truly WOULD go crazy if I DIDN’T do these things!
Wow, what a fantastic post. I love this mindset and the comment about your mind being what needs to change is so true. Running is nearly all mental for me and it makes me stronger when I push through. What a blessing to be ALIVE AND WELL to do these things.
Such an important thing to remind ourselves of!
What a lovely reason to do it.
I think anytime we can be so physically active, we’re all lucky. It’s good to recognize and appreciate it.
I love this! I get asked why I do some of the workouts I do (I’m working on getting my health back and have some LB’s to lose in the process) and my answer is always the same: “because I can.” Because I look at exercise as a reward, not punishment.
Wow, with beautiful scenery like that, why not run? I think that is more of the question really! It’s a great adventure and I feel lucky to be able to do it too 🙂
Why not is a MUCH better question, Lisa. I totally agree.