#4: Happy New (Running) Year
One thousand eight hundred and eighteen miles, I ran in 2020. An up and down running year. Fewest miles in one month: 45 (January). Most: 310 (May). Fewest in one week: 0 (June 28-July 4). Most: 80 (May 24-30). Fewest in one day: 0 (many). Most: 74 (June 25).
And here I am, right back where I started. So, why?
When you’ve made as many mistakes in life as I have, it’s a blessing just to have the opportunity for another day and another run. Every run feels like a cleanse, a chance to wipe away the mess and begin again.
Do you ever feel like you’re teetering? Like you don’t know anymore why you do what you do, or how you came to be where or even who you are?
Go for a run. There’s a good chance that by the end of the run you will have . . . perhaps not figured it all out . . . but stepped back from the edge a bit and given yourself the ability to think more clearly about your hows and whys. Provide yourself that time and space to just run. Will all of your worries disappear? No. But it will help. I swear to you, I really do, that almost anything will feel more manageable after a run.
Do you ever feel like you’re undeserving? Like you don’t know why you have the people, the things, the opportunities, the gifts you have in your life, or why you should have anything good or better?
Go for a run. There’s a good chance that by the end of the run you will think better of, and feel better about, who you are and what you deserve. It is a real, tangible thing, the feeling that running gives you. I swear, you will like you better.
Do you ever feel like everything around you is falling apart? Like the world is broken and unfixable, or like more and more people are apathetic or even hate-filled?
Go for a run. There’s a good chance that by the end of the run you will see things just a little differently. Again, will everything be fixed? No. But you may see a path toward better, may see a distant light, may feel the smallest bit of hope and the power to do something about it.
You’re not a runner, you say? I disagree. It’s not about far, and it’s not about fast. Go for a run. Just like that, you’re a runner.
Happy New Year.