For The Love of It!

I have asked this of many runners and athletes, and I have to agree.

How can I love and enjoy something as difficult and as punishing as open-road cardio, a.k.a. running?!

Why would we push ourselves to the brink of physical abilities, breathing hard and sweating profusely, feeling as if an exorbitant amount of punishment has been dealt our way!

OK, I will tell you a little secret, and as I said, most people that have experienced the same, will agree.

We don’t exactly like and enjoy the punishment part.  But we do enjoy and like something else associated with it.  We like and love what comes AFTER THE RUN.

I can barely describe the buzzing feeling throughout my entire body as soon as I stop running…

I can hardly describe the air-lift feeling after I take a shower immediately following the run…

I could never come close to conveying to you the feeling of my body being virtually weightless for the first hour or two after the run…

And tell me this – what else would I have to do to be able to eat this any time I want to, and not gain weight?!

Not that I do… but occasionally!

During what other moments in our lives do we get to spend entirely-dedicated moments alone with ourselves, alone with our own thoughts, feelings, imagination, dreams… There are no judges, no observers, no comments, no advice, just you and the road, an absolute and unique companionship.

And so they ask, why is it that I don’t compete and run marathons, why is it that I don’t count miles and keep registers, why is it that I don’t set exact weekly goals….?   Why is it that I don’t run for various causes?

Hey, I am only doing this because I enjoy it.  Not it, but the one that comes AFTER it.

Keep it running!