Why Do I Run? by George Sheehan

 I like this essay by Dr. George Sheehan.  You can check out more about him and read his essays here: http://www.georgesheehan.com/




Why Do I Run?


           Why do I run? I have written over the years of the benefits I receive from running. Enumerated the physical and mental changes. Listed the emotional and spiritual gains. Charted the improvement that has taken place in my person and my life. What I have not emphasized is how transient these values and virtues are.
           With just a little thought, however, it should be evident that physical laws parallel those of the mind and the spirit. We know that the effects of training are temporary. I cannot put fitness in the bank. If inactive, I will detrain in even less time than it took me to get in shape. And since my entire persona is influenced by my running program, I must be constantly in training. Otherwise the sedentary life will inexorably reduce my mental and emotional well-being.
           So, I run each day to preserve the self I attained the day before. And coupled with this is the desire to secure the self yet to be. There can be no let up. If I do not run I will eventually lose all I have gained-and my future with it.
           Maintenance was a favorite topic of Eric Hoffer. It made the difference, said the former longshoreman, between a country that was successful and one that failed. However magnificent the achievement, without constant care the result was decay.
           I know the experience intimately. There is nothing more brief than a laurel. Victory is of the moment. It must be followed by another victory and then another. I have to run just to stay in place.
           Excellence is not something attained and put in a trophy case. It is not sought after, achieved and, thereafter, a steady state. It is a momentary phenomenon, a rare conjunction of body, mind, and spirit at one's peak. Should I come to that peak I cannot stay there. I must start each day at the bottom and climb to the top. And then beyond that peak to another and yet another.
           Through running I have learned what I can be and do. My body is now sensitive to the slightest change. It is particularly aware of any decline or decay. I can feel this lessening of the "me" that I have come to think of myself.
           Running has made this new me. Taken the raw material and honed it and delivered it back ready to do the work of a human being. I run so I do not lose the me I was yesterday and the me I might become tomorrow.

4th Run... AT 6 AM!!

Friday was basically a winfest.

I got up at 5:15.  A friend of my wife's came by and they went for an early jog.  I laid in bed for a few minutes then decided to get up.  I got dressed, drank some water and did some stretches.

At 6am, my wife returned and I left to go for a walk/run.  I went to my soccer field and walked and ran for about 30 minutes.  It felt so good and I felt vindication for having slept in a couple of days earlier.

Running in the morning seemed to set a great tone for my day.  I pretty much slammed the rest of the day out of the park.

I'm still a fat slob though.  I'm gonna post some before pictures this week.  I weighed myself this morning... 236. So I've lost about 4 lbs.  4 runs, 4 lbs.  I admit though, my diet hasn't changed much... so I'll probably need to address that to really reap good benefits from running.

We're in SC now visiting my in-laws, but I brought my running gear and plan for a nice run tomorrow AM.

3rd Run

It almost didn't happen for me tonight- it was 9pm and we had just settled down.  Kids were fed and ready for bed.  We were all relaxed.  But I got dressed and went for a run. 

Tonight it was muggy and warm, but it felt good to run without the sun bearing down on me.

I went back to the soccer field and walked a lap.  Then I ran a lap.  I decided to run another.  Usually I walk/run/walk/run, etc... but this time I ran twice.  Then, when the third lap came around I kept running still!  By this time my calves and legs were burning (I know, I know, I'm weak... but I already feel much stronger).  After my third lap I walked another lap.  Then... I ran four more laps. 

I just didn't want to stop, it was a really good experience for me.  Usually I seek a way out, but tonight I really didn't want to stop.  I felt great.  But oh, that 2nd round of running, on my fourth lap, my legs were really burning. 

All in all it was a really great run for me.  I feel like I broke through some mental barriers that I had in my mind.  I also had some great time to myself and to think.  I'm excited about getting in shape and enjoying my running time.

dreaming myself into shape

Last night I set my alarm for 6am.  I also set out my shorts, t-shirt and running shoes.  I was all prepared to wake up early and go for a nice morning run.  My 3rd official run of my new, healthy lifestyle

My alarm went off as planned.  I turned it off.  I rolled back over in bed.

Then I find myself walking out my door.  I'm met by the cool morning air.  My run seemed to end instantly and I was eating breakfast and telling my smiling wife about how well I did on my run - how disciplined I had become in my being able to wake up early and run and eat well and start my day of right.

Then my six year old shook me awake.  "Dad, can you fix me breakfast?"  I looked at my clock.  7am.  

I had a dream about being active and proud of my activeness... A DREAM!  I felt pretty defeated.  Oh well.  I took the stairs at work and I'll run this evening.  I guess I'll have to remember: go with the flow.  No sense in beatin myself up about it as long as I get a run in this evening.

taking the stairs

As part of the new "I'm-36-and-ready-to-take-my-life-by-the-horns" mentality, I decided to switch it up at work today.  Something daring and bold; something that would alleviate any doubt in my mind or the minds of others exactly how serious I am about getting in shape this year.

I took the stairs.

I work on the 5th floor of a very sterile and depressing building.  Normally, I pile into an elevator like actors in one of those old Dial commercials.  Everyone's breathing heavy from having to walk in from the parking lot.  And no one speaks or looks around - everyone just stares at their feet and no one says a word.



But today for me was different.  I took the stairs.  The security guard made fun of me and coworkers gave me a strange look, like I was trying to fool with them or expose some sort of hidden crime.  I imagined mumblings and shaking heads as they piled onto the elevator.

I kept a steady pace and made it up and stopped before I walked onto my floor so that I could catch my breath.  That took a while.  As I walked to my seat it seemed that my heart was going to bang right out of my chest.  I took the stairs!!  And so I thought I'd treat myself with knowledge.  Everyone knows that taking the stairs is better than using an elevator, but I thought I'd do an internet search and see what came up.

What I found was this great article from the BBC... after reading it, I think I'll take the stairs again tomorrow.

Climbing stairs can prolong life

Taking the stairs instead of the lift at work could save your life, claim Swiss researchers.

Banning the use of lifts and escalators led to better fitness, less body fat, trimmer waistlines and a drop in blood pressure, a study of 69 people found.

This translates to a 15% cut in the risk of dying prematurely from any cause, calculate the University of Geneva team.

The results were revealed at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

Before the study, the 69 participants had what the researchers described as a sedentary lifestyle, meaning they did less than two hours of exercise or sport each week and climbed fewer than 10 flights of stairs each day.

Read the rest of the article and the study HERE.

2nd Run

So today I ran... it was my 2nd run since I turned 36.  Which is to say it's my 2nd run in the last 5 years.  It was hot today, too.  I'm in North Carolina and it hit 93 degrees today.

I walked to a soccer field down the street and walked a lap, then ran a lap.

I ended up running five laps and walking six.  Not sure how far that ended up being but it was taxing for me.  I'm not sure which is more out of shape - my legs or my lungs.  Either way, it hurt.. but it hurt so good!!  I really felt great (despite the pain).  In total, I moved for 35 constant minutes.

Also, I listened to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, which, if you like to listen to music while you run, that is a fantastic choice.

I will probably only walk tomorrow.  I'll also do some strength training.  More to come.
Thanks to anyone who's read this blog; I appreciate the accountability and the interest.

Pieces of a Whole

So I turned 36 recently.

Turns out I'm basically the same person that I was when I was younger.  I'd really like to change that.  Not that I'm a terrible guy - I'm a pretty involved dad.  I take care of my family.  I'm nice to my neighbors.  I help my parents with yard work.  I'm a nice enough guy, really, but it turns out that I'm lazy in a lot of areas in my life.  I'm just kind of eeking by.  I'm living, but don't feel wholly alive.  I don't feel totally engaged in my days.. it's as if I just watch as the days unfold and I'm shocked to see how things happen to me.  These are the results:

* overweight.  I'm 5'10'' and weigh 238 lbs.  I should be 180.

* hate my job.  Which isn't a big deal.  Alot of people hate their job, but I let the stress of it consume me sometimes and the fact that I don't like my job makes me feel a bit defeated - like I have no control over what happens to me.  I would probably like it more if I took ownership of it and became more involved.

* zero creativity.  I used to be very creative.  Acting, writing, and more... but now, I'm always tired.  I just want to come home and go to sleep.

So it's time to change all this.  I'm past the half-way mark.

I remember when I was in college in the early 90's I was interested in the idea of running.  In my school library I thumbed through some Runner's World magazines and stumbled across the writings of George Sheehan.  I was mesmerized.  Here was a man describing what I thought running should be - it was a mix of physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual.  This was before the days of the internet and instant gratification (and instant boredom), and I had to wait for a whole month for the next issue of Runner's World to come out before I could read another article.  But I kept reading.

I only ran a handful of times in college.  After college came years of waiting tables and traveling and drinking and eating badly.  Then marriage in my 30's.  Now young children and a stressful job and BAM! I feel like all of the sudden I've woken up and found that 15 years has disappeared and I'm terribly uninvolved in my life and overweight.

So it's time to change all this.  Years ago I fully signed on to the psychological and emotional aspects of Sheehan's writings.  Over the last couple of years, I fee like the spiritual has started to take shape.  Now it's time for the physical.  I think that, based on what I've seen in other people's lives, all these pieces together will form a whole.  And I'll feel whole.  Human.  Alive.  Involved.

I'm ready to experience what I read in a Sheehan essay back in my college library 18 years ago: "Sweat cleanses from the inside. It comes from places a shower will never reach."