Today they held the National Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. This means it has been one year since I ran the race to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation! (Read about that here). It's nice to think about what the LAF might have been able to accomplish in that year with the money you donated in support of my race. Thanks again for your generosity!
On my 7 mile run today, I was thinking about how I could have quit running again a year ago, and trying to figure out why I didn't. I think the thing I like about distance running is that no matter how miserable the last few miles are, the finish line is pre-determined. If you can make yourself more miserable by trying to run faster, you'll be rewarded by reaching the finish line sooner. Then comes the feeling of gratification and the relief of gulping down water-- every single time. Life's not like that. Not even in books.
Today it occurred to me on my run that determination is like anything else-- it can get horribly out of shape if you don't exercise it. Running distances has helped me keep my determination in shape this past year. Forcing myself through the burning lungs and sore feet to reach the finish line has helped me to endure the difficult moments when I didn't know quite where the finish line was going to be, and it taught me that chasing down mile markers is a good way to make a distant finish line seem closer.
The little victories help, too. Today I shaved 4 minutes off the time it took me to run 7 miles last weekend. Part of that was because I ran in the pouring down rain last weekend, and the water was ankle deep on some sections of the trail (today it was sunny and almost 70). But mostly it was because I was trying to run faster-- because I knew when I got back I had to tackle this writing project again, for the sixth straight day in a row, and I knew the feeling of gratification from posting a good time would help carry me through.
(The Years is the last book Virginia Woolf published in her lifetime. Though it spans around 50 years and 3 generations, she focuses on individual events that happen in the characters' lives. For me, she might have zeroed in on a random 7 mile run on the most beautiful day of the year yet.)
As a non-runner - for various reasons - I always find your musings about running really interesting. It's an approach to life - it always seems like more than just a metaphor - that I really respect.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wanted to comment because I noticed 1919 among your books, and it made me smile.