All For The Love of The Run

There is a nagging ringing noise slowly droning on and on in the background until I’m suddenly ripped away from a dream and slammed back to my reality— the daily hustle and bustle of life. It is a bright and early Monday morning; indicating that the week has just begun. Sun rays are just piercing the sky when I’m tying my shoelaces, setting up my GPS watch, tightening my pony, and bounding out my front door dedicated to getting my run in before the heat from the sun starts to bear down on my back. Before I know it my feet are slapping the concrete in a harmonious rhythm and I am racing past cars, dancing around street puddles, and sprinting around corners to the beat of my own two feet. My muscles start aching and I am gasping for air as my watch beeps indicating that I’ve reached mile five. The initial thoughts that usually run through my mind at this time are, “Why am I even doing this?” “What’s the point? I’m not getting any better than I was yesterday?” However, I know that I must push these thoughts to the back of my mind because I know the true answer: It is all for the love of the run. What keeps me going is knowing that I love the sport and I couldn’t live without getting my daily run in!

I am a runner. That means that I endure many fast-paced miles daily all in the hopes of becoming faster and stronger than I was yesterday. Running is not just a physical sport. Running is also a mental sport that stretches your brain for the better. It tests you both mentally and physically and strains your dedication for personal improvement on the daily. Throughout many of my adolescent years I have been internally battling a need for improvement, never achieving what I truly wanted.

Some of the things that keep me going after the run are: coffee, pop tunes, and a protein shake (or two). Many people claim that coffee is a drug and I can’t help but to agree. Coffee is the drug for my run that entitles me to my many miles a day. Everyone needs to find that special something or someone that keeps them going, so I feel extremely motivated when drinking my black cup of joe.

Running has definitely began to influence my adult life, and it has made me into the person I am today by shaping my earlier teen years. The sport constantly inspires and shapes me into who I want to be, both mentally and physically.

As with all goals made in life, winning a championship takes intense dedication. In turn, I must endure months of sweaty six a.m. training, coaches yelling “work harder” and force myself to not eat that extra slice of pizza. All of these factors really begins to pay off the moment my foot breezes across the finish line and I know that my task is done for the season. As the days begin to blend together, I find myself setting higher standards than the day before. Setting my alarm at o’ dark thirty will pay off at the finish line and beyond it in the run of life.

If you don't set the bar higher, then the outcome you wish to see won’t materialize at the end of the long road of life. The message that I want to portray is: no matter how hard you think you are working, just keep working harder and never turn around to see how others compare to you in the championship of life.