Running and I Are Casually Dating

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but running has become a new trend among the 20-something-year-old population. No longer are only the long and lean claiming the activity, but now people of all shapes and sizes are becoming runners. In case you were also interested in the activity, here is the process: You begin by getting a running buddy and paying the $25 to sign up for the nearest 5K (3.1 miles). Then you make sure to tell everyone you know so that you would feel dumb to back out of the race at the last-minute. After that, you go home and research things like “How to train for a 5K” and “Running tips for beginners” on Google. You buy new running shoes, cool synthetic clothes and load your iPod with high intensity rap music (and maybe the occasional Rocky anthem to play when you need an extra boost).  After following your 8-week training schedule, you complete the 5K and feeling on top of the world, post cool pictures on Facebook (sporting your running number badge thing, of course) and begin training for the next step, the half-marathon (13.1 miles). Then if you don’t die after that, you’re crazy and sign up for a marathon (TWENTY-SIX miles). And after running a marathon, you’ve pretty much arrived and have total bragging rights. The end.

So since I’m into trends, fads and tend to go along with the crowd in my decisions, I have decided to take on running. Now, if you read in a previous post, I put this as a goal for the new year. I’m not sure how I feel about it nor do I know what will become of it. I guess you could say running and I are casually dating. Lately, I’ve been out running, poking my toe in the water a bit, flirting with the idea of signing up for a race. I’ve been saying it out loud to a few people, gauging their responses (I don’t realize how much I rely on other people’s feedback to guide my decisions). I’ve gotten some blank stares and a few enthusiastic “go get em’s.” What I’m really looking for is a few experienced runners to be realistic and tell me if I’m being dumb, and affirmation and impressed glances from the rest of you. Basically, I have commitment issues when it comes these things. I want to be sure that I know exactly what I’m signing up for and can accomplish it successfully. Because like most of us, I don’t like failure. I work hard to avoid it. I hate looking like I’m bad at something and having to be the “new guy.” Because the “new guy” has to go through looking like a fool, asking others for help and sucking up their pride for a time. Who would want to be that guy?

I was a softball player as a child, buff and meaty. They stuck me at first base so I didn’t have to run far for the ball and put me as 3-4 hitter because of my large arms. I could never understand the cross-country kids in high school that would run 8 miles every day (or whatever they ran, probably 27 miles). I always thought, “Is the school punishing those kids by making them run? Why would anyone willingly run?” The point being: Running has never come naturally to me. It wasn’t something I chose to do for fun and wasn’t in the family genes. People yelled things like “Unhook the trailer!” to my brother as he ran the bases in baseball. We just aren’t runners.

That being said, I have committed to taking risks this year. And I’ve realized lately that there are many things I don’t do because of fear. I have a list of things that I would love to pursue but don’t, because there’s a chance that I will 1) have to work really hard at it, and/or 2) fail miserably. I’m pretty sure that these two things keep many of us from achieving our goals. We wait for the phone to ring or life to magically be nice to us, while some things are just out there for us to go get. And I am starting to think that our dreams/goals are more about the journey it takes to get to them and less about where we end up at the end. Think of all the movies where the main character(s) has to fight through challenges to reach their goals: Rudy, Field of Dreams, Remember the Titans, Rocky. It wouldn’t be a great movie if there wasn’t determination, conflict, friction and triumph involved in the process. When was the last time that I overcame challenges to achieve a goal? Been that passionate about something I would fight for? Worked hard to reach my dream?

I’m not sure what will become of my running relationship this year. It might become something serious (who knows, maybe even Facebook official) or it might just be a one-time thing. But I know beneath the surface, this is more about me taking the risk to do something that might make me look stupid for a while. It will take me learning from those who know better than me and resisting the temptation to quit when it gets hard. Just add running to the cloud of uncertainties looming over my life, but it will stay there if I don’t bring it down and try.