The Comfort Zone

As the famous song goes, we all fall down sometimes!  And that’s all it was – a simple fall.  Blood spilled, scars acquired, and guess what – life goes on.  But I do appreciate all the sincere wishes and sympathy notes, I’ve received quite a few and, for the first time ever, don’t quite know what to say – I am touched!

And yes, I was back to running almost immediately, and no, I have not skipped a beat.  The moment the wounds stopped bleeding at least to some degree, I simply had to get back out there, if only not to let the experience scare me from doing the right thing (at least in my mind).  Well, I suppose the “right thing” is a very subjective term, with different meanings for everyone; what I meant to say was – doing something that’s RIGHT for me.

I really did not like falling down and, even less than that, I really hated getting cut and bruised up all over… That was not my intention at all.  However, you have to understand – that’s just the nature of “the beast”, that’s the way it works out there.  Anytime we opt for outdoor exercises and give up the comfort and the safety of the gym (or indoor track), we are at the mercy of the street, and the street is not comfortable, the street is not easy.  The pavement is not soft and the roads are not forgiving – any mistake or misplaced or awkward step, and you’ll immediately feel the wrath.

But you know something – perhaps this is what it’s all about, this is the way it should be.  I love comfort, I love sitting in a warm chair, checking out magazines and playing with my iPhone, and who doesn’t?  But it just seems that the key is to abandon that usual comfort, to let go of “the easy” and at least occasionally expose your body to some cruel and unusual punishment!  Our bodies would like nothing more than to slow down, relax and go into the hibernation mode, staying safe, warm, fuzzy and accumulating fat.  And most of our lives we typically let the body do what it wants.  But as Gordon Gekko said, you can’t always be comfortable, flying first class and relaxing.  There comes a time in your life when you need to jump into “the uncomfortable” and challenge yourself.

See you out there on the dangerous roads, and – always keep it running!