the best laid plans

Accepting the fact that I’m going to be a runner for the rest of my life has always been a challenge for me. I comfortably live from race to race, focusing on training in the shadow of whichever 5k, 1/2, or full marathon I just finished. I’ve been training seriously for the past few months, and with the miles, I’ve noticed a meditative necessity to keep running every day, for as long as I can imagine. This surprises me, and I often find myself waiting for the feeling to fade away. It hasn’t yet, in fact, it becomes stronger with every workout I do. I don’t know yet if this makes me a lifetime runner – I believe I have a few more marathons to tick off before I can claim that title. The process of becoming a lifetime runner, though, intrigues me, and I will surely think about it on my next run.

Runner’s World magazine hosts dozens of forum topics on their website (runnersworld.com). Usually, I’ll stroll through the majority of the content, and never really pick up my virtual pen to jot down a comment, or response. Today’s topic, however, hit home for me, “Are you a lifetime runner?” See my comment below.

Topic: The Pack Rules: Are you a lifetime runner?

I’ve been running since I could walk, so I guess that would be about 24 years (give or take a few months… not sure when I first figured out how my legs worked). I’ve been seriously running for about 6 years, competing in everything from the Turkey Trot, to the NYC Marathon.

Recently, I took a 2 month break after running the Nike Women’s Marathon last year. I needed a lot more recovery than I usually give myself, and it was well worth it. I’ll be taking another long break (1 mo.) after the CIM on Dec. 7th.

Running helps me stay grounded. I’ve a busy young professional, I’m single, and I live in a crowded city… so there’s a lot to keep track of. I like the break that running gives me. I get 45-90 minutes every day all to myself. I use the time for a challenge, for meditation, and for clarity. Recently, I noticed that running has left me feeling clean. Not in the literal sense, but more like being cleansed… in heart, lungs, muscles, and bones. It’s a feeling that I’m becoming addicted to.

I grew up running in Alaska. After that I went to school about 20 minutes from the base of Mt. Rainier, WA. And then I moved to the hills in rural Tennessee. I’ve always had a stellar place to run, and it’s never involved city streets, car exhaust, or crowds of tourists. For the past two years I’ve lived in San Francisco, so I’ve had to adapt to running through the city. It was challenging at first, but I’ve found several websites and blogs detailing great running routes around town. I’ve even contributed some of my own routes. The beauty of being a runner is that I can literally do it anywhere… it just takes some strategy every now and then.