It was just about a year ago that I was lamenting over what a terrible running year 2007 was for me, that was until I received a gift that seemed to put the whole year in perspective. I ended 2007 by writing,
I can now look forward to 2008 and all that it holds for me and I look at 2007 a little differently than before. Go out and make 2008 your masterpiece.
Well, check and mate on that one. This year has been a dream for me, from a running perspective. Lots of memorable runs, a couple of half marathons and some great conversations over breakfast with my favourite running buddies helped to make 2008 so memorable.
But even with all the foot-strikes, all the hill climbs, and all the miles, my most memorable moment of 2008 had nothing to do with me. One of the greatest moments of my life took place on a chilly day in May watching my fellow Club members come home from a 13.1 mile journey through the streets of Halifax, an incredible feat for sure. The smiles were wide, the tears were flowing, the emotion was unbridled. It was a day, an experience, a life-changing moment never to be forgotten.
And as we close out 2008, I know many of my heroes from that Halifax finish line have signed-up for their first full marathon in 2009, an experience that won't just change their lives, but rather define them.
We all have so much to look forward to. Raise your bar. Leave your comfort zone. Demand more.
Happy New Year and thanks for the memories!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Cool Sundays
There's something cool about being in a running club made up of your co-workers and a few of their relatives.
It's cool for two reasons. One being that employees of our workplace have made a commitment to fitness and healthier living, but even more noteworthy is the fact that when we get together on Sunday mornings, we run, encourage, cheer-on, applaud, high-five and hug each other, before sitting down for a little face-to-face over coffee, a moment that never involves discussing our workplace -- we leave all that out, and appropriately so.
Once a week, we take the biggest thing we have in common, our employer, and shove it aside to discuss running memories from the past, goals for the future, Christmas gifts and most recently the correct usage of the terms "ballistic" and "incongruent".
Our Club lets us connect with each other on a level we wouldn't quite get to without the heavy breathing and the odd instance of shin splints. And as much as I love to run, the real highlight of my Sunday is sitting down with these souls and hearing what they have to say. Oh, and the breakfast is usually pretty good too.
It has been another incredible year for our Club. We set many goals and methodically smashed every one of them only to set even loftier ones. So let me say thanks to my running buddies for sticking with it and making Sundays the best day of my week. I live for Sundays and I know some of them do to.
Run for your life.
It's cool for two reasons. One being that employees of our workplace have made a commitment to fitness and healthier living, but even more noteworthy is the fact that when we get together on Sunday mornings, we run, encourage, cheer-on, applaud, high-five and hug each other, before sitting down for a little face-to-face over coffee, a moment that never involves discussing our workplace -- we leave all that out, and appropriately so.
Once a week, we take the biggest thing we have in common, our employer, and shove it aside to discuss running memories from the past, goals for the future, Christmas gifts and most recently the correct usage of the terms "ballistic" and "incongruent".
Our Club lets us connect with each other on a level we wouldn't quite get to without the heavy breathing and the odd instance of shin splints. And as much as I love to run, the real highlight of my Sunday is sitting down with these souls and hearing what they have to say. Oh, and the breakfast is usually pretty good too.
It has been another incredible year for our Club. We set many goals and methodically smashed every one of them only to set even loftier ones. So let me say thanks to my running buddies for sticking with it and making Sundays the best day of my week. I live for Sundays and I know some of them do to.
Run for your life.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The monster within
John Bingham wrote,
“For many of us, running releases a primal element of ourselves that we didn’t know existed. It seems like once we let that monster out, it wants to take over.”
I couldn’t agree more, and that got me thinking, just what exactly does it mean to be a runner?
When answering this question, some would immediately analyze pace, distance, miles, years, even "seriousness." Not me.
To me a runner is someone, who at some point decided he wanted better, he wanted more. Whether that was a weight-loss goal, a “get healthier” goal, or a just “get-out-of-the-house” goal, he wanted to change his life. Runners are marked by a conquering attitude and a core belief that we can always get better, do more, raise our bars so to speak, and that raising our bars is a worthwhile quest, not just on the streets, but on the road of life as well.
Most runners start out the same way, with the same goal, something like completing a 5-K road race. Once that’s done, the races become more frequent, the distances become greater. And at some point along the way, it becomes clear that there is very little in life that we cannot accomplish, there is no finish line we cannot reach. And the more we run, the more this lesson is taught to us. We see little inclines in the road ahead and remember a time when that was the steepest of hills. Suddenly the most challenging moments in our lives become quite manageable, they become quite “climb-able”.
Being a runner spills over onto those around us. As runners, we become an inspiration the very first day we lace-up our sneakers and head outside. And we all have an “Aunt Betty” who doesn’t quite get it, but she’s proud of us, she’s inspired by us, and when we’re not around, she tells someone, anyone who will listen, about our latest running accomplishment, our latest finish line.
Being a runner means facing it head-on, never backing away. We want more for ourselves, we want to go farther, we want to see just how far we can go. We never quit. Like all of our life experiences, some of our runs leave us wanting more, some humble us, but these leave us wanting more as well. There’s a lesson in each foot-strike. Runners are in-tune -- they learn those lessons, prepare, and overcome. They endure and push through. Running is like life; we prepare for the road ahead, but we turn around sometimes and see how far we’ve come.
Celebrate! We’re runners. We’ve awoken the monster within and let him out.
Run for your life.
“For many of us, running releases a primal element of ourselves that we didn’t know existed. It seems like once we let that monster out, it wants to take over.”
I couldn’t agree more, and that got me thinking, just what exactly does it mean to be a runner?
When answering this question, some would immediately analyze pace, distance, miles, years, even "seriousness." Not me.
To me a runner is someone, who at some point decided he wanted better, he wanted more. Whether that was a weight-loss goal, a “get healthier” goal, or a just “get-out-of-the-house” goal, he wanted to change his life. Runners are marked by a conquering attitude and a core belief that we can always get better, do more, raise our bars so to speak, and that raising our bars is a worthwhile quest, not just on the streets, but on the road of life as well.
Most runners start out the same way, with the same goal, something like completing a 5-K road race. Once that’s done, the races become more frequent, the distances become greater. And at some point along the way, it becomes clear that there is very little in life that we cannot accomplish, there is no finish line we cannot reach. And the more we run, the more this lesson is taught to us. We see little inclines in the road ahead and remember a time when that was the steepest of hills. Suddenly the most challenging moments in our lives become quite manageable, they become quite “climb-able”.
Being a runner spills over onto those around us. As runners, we become an inspiration the very first day we lace-up our sneakers and head outside. And we all have an “Aunt Betty” who doesn’t quite get it, but she’s proud of us, she’s inspired by us, and when we’re not around, she tells someone, anyone who will listen, about our latest running accomplishment, our latest finish line.
Being a runner means facing it head-on, never backing away. We want more for ourselves, we want to go farther, we want to see just how far we can go. We never quit. Like all of our life experiences, some of our runs leave us wanting more, some humble us, but these leave us wanting more as well. There’s a lesson in each foot-strike. Runners are in-tune -- they learn those lessons, prepare, and overcome. They endure and push through. Running is like life; we prepare for the road ahead, but we turn around sometimes and see how far we’ve come.
Celebrate! We’re runners. We’ve awoken the monster within and let him out.
Run for your life.
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