Running

Having been a runner in high school and having no concept of work-life balance, I thought I would give running another shot. This was two years ago. I started slowly at first and it nearly killed me. But I kept at it. 1K at first. Slow. Deliberate. Then 2K. Then 5K. Then 10K. Then I tried to be faster. It didn’t just feel good; I didn’t just feel amazing. I felt free. I welcomed the sensation of time folding in on itself as I seemingly lost all conscious thought, the only sound was that of my breath and my legs pumping beneath me.

Running is such a simple activity but I love it. It’s a natural drug. Its calming. Brings things into focus and gives you a new perspective. You don’t have to be fast, just willing to set goals and challenge the voice inside that says, “You can’t.” Because you can.

My current best times are never going to win a race: 5k – 17:31, 10k – 38:20, 21.1k – 1:24:40

When you give it your all, it’s hard to feel comfortable the whole time. Being out of your comfort zone and being ok with that is an important part of running. But it’s more than that. It’s an important part of life. It’s fairly easy to feel comfortable and want to keep that state all the time. To do great things, you need to step out of your comfort zone and be vulnerable. That means you will get injuries. It’s how you deal with those injuries that defines you.

I run in a search for stillness.

Sometime in the near future I plan on running a 100k ultramarathon. Just to see if I can,