The Million Dollar Question: Are You a "Runner"?

       

They have it right. 

Even though I like to run, I have the hardest time answering that question. Every now and then I'm asked, "Are you a runner?" For the life of me, I can't manage to answer in the affirmative. Now, I know that for those who run only when chased, anybody who runs seems like a "runner". But the answer, for me at least, is not so easy.

Technically, the suffix "er" means "one who". Therefore, runner means "one who runs". Well, okay, I do run some. But I always want to add, "I'm not so fast.  In my entire life I've never participated in any sport, much less track or cross country.  I only started running in my late 30's.  I have no formal training whatsoever."  Ah, how I can go on and on with my (perceived) running inadequacies.  There are a bajillion people faster and better trained than I. Really there are.

Guess what?!  (For what it's worth, this is NOT where I originally thought the post would go.) I'm going to name it and claim it anyway.  I. Am. A. Runner.  There, I said it, if only in writing.  It brings me joy (especially in cooler weather).  I'm the better for it.  I try my best every time.  I want to run, and I want to get better. If that's not a runner, then I don't know what is.

So, the next time someone asks me, "Are you a runner," I'm going to look them straight in the eye and reply with an emphatic, "Yes!"

Try me.

What's your name it and claim it?  Do it.

Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.  ~ William Faulkner

Know Thy Exercise Self

This has nothing to do with running.  It's just funny. :)

At the tender age of 41, I believe I've finally settled into an exercise routine that suits me.  At least for the time being. But it's taken me a long time to get here.

I've had to determine the elements that motivate me to exercise and what keeps me going.  I only wish I had realized what I needed earlier. In no particular order, they are:

1.)  Groups - I like to train with groups.  As long as I don't feel too intimidated, I enjoy exercise camaraderie.

2.)  Goals - Give me an attainable goal, and I'm set.  I don't do well when I feel like a hamster in a wheel going nowhere.  (For what it's worth, the goal of a marathon has been a long time in the making.  It didn't happen overnight.)

3.)  Routine - I generally go to CrossFit two times a week at noon and again on Saturday mornings.  I've just started running two mornings a week, with my (not-yet-so) long run early Saturday morning.  Tuesday evenings I've started running hills with my neighbor (hey, Kris!).  Life, kids, dinner, a husband...  all can complicate the routine.  I do my best to ignore work around them. ;-)

4.)  Enjoyment - Step aerobics is the devil's spawn, and I'd rather listen to 1,000 screaming toddlers for a week than use an elliptical machine.  I may get a knot in my stomach when I hear we're doing the Air Force WOD at CrossFit, and I may complain about having to do a long run in freezing weather, but ultimately it's what I enjoy.  I'm a masochist, but it works for me.

5.)  Mood - I can't count the number of times I've entered a workout anxious, troubled or down-right burdened by life.  Without exception, life is better after I've gotten my heart pumping. Not that exercise solves every problem, but I know from experience that it helps.  We're amazing designs. (Psalm 139:14)

I raise my water bottle to all you hard-working people trying to manage life and exercise. In this race called life, may your serotonin levels be high and your exercise routine a perfect fit.

P.S.  Please pray for Sheila (my sister-in-law).  She's having tubes taken out tomorrow and a possible procedure done on her left lung that will be quite painful. Thank you so much.

Whatever you are, be a good one.  ~ Abraham Lincoln

Part 2: Why I Run

A second reason I run is to honor and remember those who can't.  When I started training for a half-marathon last fall, I learned that my sister-in-law's cancer had returned.  It was stage 4. She had so much trouble with the cancer in her lungs that it was a struggle just for her to breathe.  Large amounts of fluid had to be drained from her lungs, and she spent many agonizing nights in the hospital.  Every time I would start running, I'd think about her family.  I became very conscious of my breath, that constant yet essential function, and I remembered to pray for Sheila to be healed.

It is for her, my dear sweet sister-in-law Sheila, who bravely continues her struggle against cancer, that I dedicate this marathon.  Your faith and courage are such an inspiration, and I love you.  For the other two family members that have been lost to cancer, my step-brother Chris, and my mother-in-law Glenda:  I know we'll one day run together on streets of gold. 

You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body. - C.S. Lewis

< less than

Today I started my first "long run" with a Rogue training group.  Since I'm hoping to run a marathon February 2012, I figured joining in a little distance training every now and then might be a good idea. (I'm clever like that.)  Cautious of my abilities, I opted to run the 4 mile route.  Not coincidentally, it was the shortest one to chose from.

Now, I'm sure better people than I would join right in a strange running group and feel at right at home.  Not I.  Conjured in my head were thoughts of 90 lb gaunt Rogue men with a 5 min/mile marathon pace.  As I drove to meet the 7:00 a.m. running group, I had to stuff away thoughts of inadequacy.

"What if I'm going to be the slowest person there?"

"What if I can't run the 4 miles I try to run? I'll look like a fool."

"You're crazy to try this.  You don't know these guys, and they already know each other."

And the emotional clincher, "You're stupid to feel stupid."  Undo that psychological conundrum.

Guess what?  The monster at the end of the book was not there. There was a gaunt 5 min/mile marathon-pace coach, but he was really nice and liked my running shoes.  People of all shapes, sizes and ages were represented.  And they were the same kind of different as me.  I ran the 4 miles without a hitch (unless you call needing windshield wipers for my sweat a hitch).  More importantly, it was very, very worth it.  If for no other reason than another momentary fear was conquered.

What's your ever-so-slight (or massive) feeling of inadequacy today?  Step right through, my friend, because good things wait on the other side.  Jeremiah 29:11

Do one thing every day that scares you.  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Part I: Why I run

I started running for the obvious reasons:  it's good for your health, it helps keep my weight in check, it's a fairly inexpensive exercise (sooo wrong about that one), it lifts the mood, etc.  But in past couple of years, running has taken on new meaning.  Meanings that I never expected.

Put simply, the main reason I now run is because it's become a spiritual exercise.  My mind is cleared of modern clutter, and I focus with a clarity that I rarely experience in any other venue.  I have never felt more grateful for my health, or for God's creation, than when I run.

"Thank you, God, for my lungs.  They work, and I'm alive. Thank you so much, God, for these legs that move.  They hurt, but I'm grateful to have them."  These are the not-so-complicated things I think.

Simple, private prayers of thanksgiving between God and me bubble forth so easily when I run, and I feel God's presence.  The beauty of a fading sun, long shadows of the evening, redbuds blossoming in spring -- all remind me of the Creator who made it all. (Can you tell I'm a late day runner?)

In every walk (or run) with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir