I subscribe to Runners World magazine. I know that probably comes as a shock to all of you. As I read it each month there is invariably an article about some life changing event in which running played a role. Now I'm not talking about how running got someone in shape and saved their life (that's usually in there too). But, I'm talking about the old "running imitates life". If you look hard enough there is probably something like that in every sport. Running means this and football means that. Heck, there was even a baseball movie that followed this theme. Several of them actually. I've never subscribed to that theory about any sport, even running.
However, today I had one of those "zen moments". Today was a scheduled 60 minute run, which usually means that I'll run about 6 1/4 - 6 1/2 miles. There are a few places that I run, but the problem with running so often is that sometimes running the same places gets boring. Boring is not a friend to the runner. Running is a mental sport too. While keeping my mind occupied on a run isn't a requirement, it helps tremendously.
So today, I tried to figure out where I could run that was different. I decided to run an area I'd run before, but run it differently. I basically ran a modified version of a course I've run many times. While I have always run this 6 1/2 mile course clockwise, today I ran it counter-clockwise. Now you may think, "Chris, it's still the same course. There's nothing different." I thought the same thing as I started. But I quickly realized that it wasn't the same course at all. Areas of the course that were once inclines were now down hill and vice versa. As I ran north along Spring St. I saw something different. I'd always run south on Spring St. Now I was seeing the south side of all those houses that line the street. The side of the house that gets the most sun, and therefore where most people do their landscaping work. I had never seen those areas before because I was always running away from them. The parts of the course where I was normally tired, were now fresh. The parts of the course where I was usually fresh and just starting out, I was now pushing through.
So how, you may ask, does this mean that running imitates life? Maybe "imitates" is the wrong word. But it did make me think. It made me think that maybe we need to get a different perspective more often. (See how I did that?) Maybe we need to look at things from a different angle. Maybe, before forming opinions or conclusions, we need to see all sides of the course/topic/situation. Maybe, instead of just seeing the driveway and the front of the house, we need to make a point of checking out the side that faces the sun most often, there can be some beautiful landscaping on that side, or it can be a side of the house that's not kept as nice as the front yard. But without running the course from a different direction we wouldn't know that. We accept what we see in the front yard without taking time to check out the whole yard.
However, today I had one of those "zen moments". Today was a scheduled 60 minute run, which usually means that I'll run about 6 1/4 - 6 1/2 miles. There are a few places that I run, but the problem with running so often is that sometimes running the same places gets boring. Boring is not a friend to the runner. Running is a mental sport too. While keeping my mind occupied on a run isn't a requirement, it helps tremendously.
So today, I tried to figure out where I could run that was different. I decided to run an area I'd run before, but run it differently. I basically ran a modified version of a course I've run many times. While I have always run this 6 1/2 mile course clockwise, today I ran it counter-clockwise. Now you may think, "Chris, it's still the same course. There's nothing different." I thought the same thing as I started. But I quickly realized that it wasn't the same course at all. Areas of the course that were once inclines were now down hill and vice versa. As I ran north along Spring St. I saw something different. I'd always run south on Spring St. Now I was seeing the south side of all those houses that line the street. The side of the house that gets the most sun, and therefore where most people do their landscaping work. I had never seen those areas before because I was always running away from them. The parts of the course where I was normally tired, were now fresh. The parts of the course where I was usually fresh and just starting out, I was now pushing through.
So how, you may ask, does this mean that running imitates life? Maybe "imitates" is the wrong word. But it did make me think. It made me think that maybe we need to get a different perspective more often. (See how I did that?) Maybe we need to look at things from a different angle. Maybe, before forming opinions or conclusions, we need to see all sides of the course/topic/situation. Maybe, instead of just seeing the driveway and the front of the house, we need to make a point of checking out the side that faces the sun most often, there can be some beautiful landscaping on that side, or it can be a side of the house that's not kept as nice as the front yard. But without running the course from a different direction we wouldn't know that. We accept what we see in the front yard without taking time to check out the whole yard.
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