There is No Such Thing as Becoming a Runner

My step dad, who came to our family late in life with a colorful and glorious past as a professional athlete and an accomplished Ironman, has plenty of great tips and advice about running for me.  He's in his sixties now and is retired and helps people find and enjoy fitness in their lives.  He's a lovely man with a soft spoken demeanor who radiates encouragement.  This Spring, I went out for a training run with him along a shady patch of the Sacramento River.  He rode alongside on his bike, talking about the mechanics of running and the ups and downs of what an athlete goes through.  Along the way he said, "You're becoming a runner."  He meant it as an encouraging thing, to give myself time and check my expectations at the door.  He meant it to tell me not to be discouraged at the setbacks.  And I didn't really respond to it at the time, but it stuck with me because I didn't really agree with him. 

There is no such thing as becoming a runner.  If you are running, you are a runner.  If you have a plan all mapped out and a training routine and races you've already paid for, you're a runner.  If you run once a week and love / hate it, you're a runner.  I will not have a moment when there is an imaginary finish line I cross and say, now I am a Runner.  That line and that moment doesn't exist.  I am a runner because I am running.

Being a runner is great.  But sometimes it's not.  It's amazing peaks where I feel on top of the world, connected to my spirit and soaring.  And it's cruddy lows where I feel my every year over forty and wonder why I bother.

I've been running consistently for about a year and a half now.  In one year, I've gone from hoofing along at a 10:30 pace with walking intervals for 2 excruciating miles to powering through 13.1 and back down to sucking wind at 3 miles again.  It's an up and down battle with myself that has taught me a few things.  

First, this simple act of running ain't that simple after all.  Seriously, there's a lot to it!  Yes, the basic motion of running is simple.  The effort and consistency required to sustain that running motion for longer durations is not so simple.  I've learned about my illiotibial band and discovered my peroneus longus and gotten to know my chiropractor and masseuse quite well.  I've tried Graston therapy and marveled at how deeply I bruise and how long it can last.  My running effort seems to consist of a great run followed by days and days of recovery during which I feel like I just might fall apart.  But sometimes I go weeks, running 3 days a week consistently, where everything just flows and I feel great.

I've pondered my need to continue and discovered it's several parts stubbornness tempered with a deep determination to expand my boundaries.  It's a clear and simple path toward pushing myself both mentally and physically.  And it sets a terrific example for my kids that a goal is something to be worked toward, sometimes doggedly and through many, many setbacks.  The things we want aren't just instantly achieved because we decided to try once.  Stuff that's hard takes time to do right.  And it takes work!

I've joined the most awesome running group in my area.  It's awesome because of the people I've met, it was so simple to join, and it's totally free.  Through them, I've discovered that Runners are unique people.  They are the sort of people I want to be.  They power through self doubt, push past minor physical pain, listen to their bodies and find that space between respecting the body's need for rest while expanding the body's limits at the same time.  My group is called Moms Run This Town and they're a national organization based in the US.  Look them up and if there isn't a group in your area, start one!

I learned runners are forgiving people full of grace.  We see someone struggling with a run and our first impulse is encouragement and support.  We don't marvel in our superiority or bask in our own glory, we bring everyone along with us.  We share the road.  Because running creates in us a goodwill and fellowship that slows the pace of the hectic world and allows us to interact with each other, one step at a time for miles and miles.

Thank you, sincerely, to all the runners of the world who keep the fellowship alive.  Thank you for bringing me along on the journey, and for the kindnesses I've been shown along the way.  Mostly, I've learned that the cliche that says life is about the journey and not the destination is incredibly true.  Because I'm a runner.  It's all a journey.  You achieve one destination and all you crave is another journey.  

Lace up your shoes, get out there, and enjoy the journey.