Skip to main content

Yes! Positive Energy!

THAT quote comes from Stephen Brody Stephens

You're welcome for that.  Earlier this week I posted about not taking yourself or your training too seriously.  Another part of enjoying your run and/or your training is actually enjoying the training.  I've glazed over it in many different posts, particularly when writing about how my reasons for running have changed over the years.  
The thing is, you gotta enjoy your run.  One of my earlier posts went through my favorite time to run and pictures from it. Running the Sun Up.
We can get so lost in splits, the competitive spirit, and proving yourself.  I have a shirt with Pre's famous "I run to see who has the most guts" quote on it.  Movies and coaches from other sports have always had that "give it your all" approach.  Like I said in my last post (You'll Never Get Out Alive!) is that we (most of us, anyway) need to remember that we're choosing to be runners.  We don't HAVE to run, typically.  I'm sure that some of you are in a physical job such as the military where you have to do occasional tests.  I get that.  But the majority of us that run 5k or longer races do it for the fun of it.  So, why not enjoy it?


Two of my favorite "happy runners," Anne and Ceci.  You'll see these ladies tearing up the trails and roads around Texas, Iowa, Mexico, and even Peru with an ever-present smile and infectious positivity.
Now, you will catch me saying "Oh, I HAVE to run 6 miles tomorrow or I HAVE to do this or that," but it's only because that is what is on my schedule.  The truth is, I either wrote that schedule myself or asked for it.  What I mean by that is that I GET to go run.  If you're going to do it, find the positive in it. Sometimes, on the crappiest runs, the only positive you can find is the fact that you're able to be out there on that crappy run   Andy Jones-Wilkins, owner of ultra running site irunfar, is coming back from a recent knee surgery to run the Hard Rock 100.  At this very moment, he's at mile 85, 27th place.  In a recent Trail Runner Nation podcast he went in depth about how happy he is just to be out on the trails.  11 months ago he was thinking that his running career was over.  Now, he's taking it easy compared to his monstrous training while younger.  However, he's enjoying his runs because he's grateful to even be out there.
A personal sense of "just glad to be able" comes from an unlikely spot - my dad.  A man that my whole childhood prided himself on strength and toughness had two hip replacements and struggled to get up a flight of stairs by the age of 48.  Now, 48 isn't that old, but it's still a ways off for me.  I want to take advantage of every chance I get to go run.  I want to appreciate all of the time that I get out on the streets or trails.
Where do you find enjoyment while running?

Our San Angelo Road Lizards/Team RWB early morning crew!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Surprise!

I was sitting in an awards ceremony the other day and one of the "get to know you" questions asked of the awardees was "what is your dream job?" (odd thing to ask at a work awards ceremony, but I  wasn't the one asking) Me being me, I spent the majority of the rest of the ceremony pondering this question. and, of course clapping at the proper intervals. Of course This is also coming as I am closing in on retirement, possibly as early as the summer of 2028. Only three years to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I came up with two possibilities, specific to the caveat that money does not enter into the equation - travel blogger and/or history podcaster. As my 8ish faithful readers can tell you, I'm not the most consistent travel blogger out there. On the other hand, do we really need another millennial dude talking into a microphone and telling everyone he knows "Hey bro, you should listen to my podcast"? So, here's what I'm going t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fanciness, gardens, and you're a guey

 Day 4 was "supposed" to take place mainly outside. The forecast called for rain most of the day and, well, it looked like we would be running ourselves ragged to make the self-imposed time hacks. So, we made a little adjustment. We still decided to go to a couple different gardens. However, we needed breakfast first (let's be honest, it was second breakfast for this hobbit). We went to Confiteria La Ideal for a fantastic breakfast. I had thought it was a smaller place to grab a coffee and snack and then be on our way. However, we walked in and realized it's not that type of spot. The cafe originally opened in 1912 and was long considered the best example of porteno (coming from Buenos Aires) gastronomy for the best part of the 20th century. They closed their doors in 2016 but reopened in 2022 after a massive restoration project.  We also saw that we were way underdressed. Luckily, we could play the ignorant tourist card and, if need be, I could always speak horrendou...
Post a Comment
Read more

"For ME this is heaven" part 2 (Ushuaia pt 1)

     We last left off  with Mila and I arriving at a Buenos Aires Airport after hitting up the Hard Rock Cafe (#2 for the trip) at the Iguazu airport. We'd scouted a good, (seemingly) quiet spot to crash for our overnight layover before the flight to the southern tip of the continent. Thing is, they shut that portion of the airport down overnight, so we were escorted out past security, swept along with the weary procession of bleary castaways marooned in the same purgatory. People plopped down wherever they could and we were glad to see that there was at least an overnight cafe right there in the lobby. Mila can fall asleep sitting at a table. I, it was proven, cannot. But there was cafecito.  The flight was obviously uneventful as evidenced by the fact that I can't remember anything about it some 18 months later. We went from the jungle to the literal southernmost city in the world. The city of 80,000 is situated in a bowl between mountains to the north, east, ...
Post a Comment
Read more