A run can be so many things. Once, it was a date with a cute guy in high school. Many times it has been a way for me to explore a new city or the neighborhood nearby. Core memories are stacked in my mind of running on sidewalks and side roads, across bridges, up steep hills, tackling stairs and trails and running barefoot in the sand. I have run while pushing a stroller and with a dog leash strapped to my waist, jogged with friends and with a group of strangers, alongside my husband or my kids on their bikes, around the track or with my team on the field. Many miles earned and memories proudly collected over a lifetime of hitting the road.
Journal Entry, New Year’s Day 2021
It was an angry run today. Out hard, with a scowl. Pounding persistently with a heavy heart. Thoughts, concerns, inspirations also running fast and furious in my mind while I got splattered with the magical mist of the early morning rain. I saw exactly no other person out there. It wasn’t until mile 2.5 that I even really heard the birds. Uber-focused and determined to start the year off in a healthy way. As I came up the hill back to my house, a strong wind blew through the trees sounding like a crowd cheering – then, a smile broke through.
Reading over this new year’s day journal entry from five years ago inspired this article. Despite how punishing life can be, the entry made me consider how many times pounding the pavement has whipped me back into shape and set me straight into smiling through the years. I admit that a smile is not always immediate and definitely not promised at the end – sometimes the smile, good mood or the enjoyment is in the doing or in some cases the never doing it again.
In 2011, I registered for the Rock and Roll Las Vegas, NV Half Marathon and committed to raise money for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. Registering for this event is a deeply personal endeavor in honor of my older sister Wendi who passed away after complications and losing her own battle with Crohn’s Disease. It was an incredible loss and in my experience running is the best medicine for an aching heart and also my prescription for clearing the mind and grounding after grief.
The Las Vegas Rock and Roll race was my first half marathon distance. The event was full of unexpected happenings. I was shocked by how cold the Las Vegas desert is before sunrise and entertained by the resulting discarded clothing that piled up along the Las Vegas strip as the sun rose higher in the sky. It was comical to watch these items be manually picked up at the end of the race by a guy hanging off the back of a moving truck wielding a trash picking stick. At mile marker 3, a hoard of pre-registered runners got married! I was delighted throughout the race by the creative and athletic versions of wedding formal wear like white skorts and trucker hat veils. Feeling the love until the finish line as I passed swinging bouquets and sporty tuxedos with a live music soundtrack.
The post-race glow dimmed as I learned the hard way about the importance and impact of race nutrition, finding out that blindly accepting sports drinks from the aid stations and eating gels I had never tried ruined my gut and zapped all the fun. This will be that one race that I stick with telling only the good parts of the story.
At the time the Rock and Roll race was something to focus on, a goal to reach for, plan for, grind for, processing difficult emotions along the way. The best part of lacing up my shoes and heading out for a run is that it is a free pass to freedom, guaranteed private head space and fresh air. The rhythm of the movement and consistency of the breath, a moving meditation and prayer.
A run can be so many things. For me it has been a loyal friend. Every run is not always a promise of adventure and exploration, at times it is simply a means for exercise or building a base to reach those larger mileage goals. Running can forge connections and deepen bonds with those we like or promise to love. The route can be on black top, the sandy shoreline, along a pine needle covered trail or up and down aluminum bleachers at the local stadium. The act of running can provide relief, elation, pain and a sense of accomplishment or defeat. But most of all its pavement therapy and running, the best medicine.
Years of personal practice has proved to me that running is many things and certainly cheaper than therapy. Now take two miles and call me in the morning.
