Whew!

Today was long run day. I am happy to report that I did not have any repeat of last week. In fact, nothing of the sort. I had a really good run, very conscientiously cooled down afterward and was able to happily go on with the rest of my day. Yea!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how ubiquitous running really is. It seems like most people who I talk to who find out I'm a runner tell me how they too were a runner at one time or another in their lives. I think that running can really be boiled down to some pretty primary elements and that's part of its universal appeal.

For starters, it seems most of us move with our feet to one degree or another every day (unless you are physically unable to and then often feet are replaced with wheels). Running (or even walking) propels you forward. It is like the physical manifestation of achieving some goal whether that be to run a distance, walk to the store, or even walk around while shopping inside the store to seek out those things we need. We all have goals in our lives (no matter how small) each day and in order to achieve these goals we walk or run.

We have it innate within ourselves to walk or run. We have had the need to traverse distances since the beginning of the human race. Whether we are seeking shelter or food or going to see our neighbors or even just engaging in recreation, doing activity that involves forward progression with our feet is inherent. Even if you go everywhere in your car (God, forbid), you have to actually get to the car first... on your feet.

Then there is the ease with which most of us walk or run. Aside from a good pair of shoes, running (at least for short distances) really doesn't require any special equipment. You throw on your shoes and head out the door... and whammy, you're getting aerobic activity, burning calories, and building muscle. There are no complicated rules and it doesn't even really require that you find anyone else to go with you. Granted, it can be a lot more fun with a running (or walking) partner, but it's not required.

Finally, there is an appeal in covering a distance as some kind of an achievement. Think about it... if you're a runner what is the first thing that ANYONE asks you when you tell them about your running. It is invariably "how far do you run?" Running (or walking) is very easily quantifiable. You can know almost immediately these days, through the aid of GPS or MapMyRun, exactly how far you've gone. You can tell people that distance and they can immediately understand what you're talking about. Think about it... when your talk about something like basketball, I would venture to guess that many (most?) of us don't know what a "Pick & Roll" is, why it's important in the game or even how to recognize one if we saw it. That is never the case with running.

Is there really a point to all my ramblings here? Well, probably not, except to say that running (or walking) due to its universal nature is really something we can all partake in. For many people getting out and pounding miles and miles of pavement every single day might not be their idea of fun, but that doesn't mean that they can't do it... at least in some form. To this end I would encourage everyone to get out there and move their feet. It doesn't have to be far and it doesn't have to be pretty, but I promise when you're done and you've achieved some quantifiable result that you hadn't achieved before (whether you express it in terms of minutes or miles), you have some result that you can share with others who will understand exactly what you are talking about... and they will be proud of you... and, more importantly, YOU will be proud of you.

Today's run
12.45 Miles
2:30:00
5.0 mph
12:02 pace