The Running Life

“Find Happiness” Before a big race, it’s always interesting to hear what people have to say. Sometimes when we’re counting down the days to a marathon or long trail race, we receive e-mails and texts from friends wishing us success in the upcoming event. Our running friends recognize how many months are spent in preparation beforehand, and they can all sympathize with our pre race jitters and anticipation. Most friends say things like “Good luck”, “Run fast”, or the ever popular, “May the wind be at your back.” Others try to build your confidence by saying “You’ve done all the training, now enjoy the race”, or “You’re strong and ready - now go do it!” Fortunately, runners never abide by the traditional good luck message used by the theatre community: “Break a leg!” For obvious reasons. Some running veterans offer messages that are wise, simple, and can be used as a mantra during the race: “Patience”; “Perserverence”; “Strong and Smooth”; “Run smart.” One well-known local example comes from the Harrison twins, Olympic sprinters from Salinas, who used to instruct each other to “Run to your destiny” before each race. Having run many races over the years, we thought we had received every possible well-wishing message - but our friend Jon Geller surprised us recently. Before an important marathon, Mike had been complaining about various aches and pains going into the marathon; maybe looking for sympathy, maybe subconsciously making early excuses for a less than perfect run. Jon sent him an e-mail simply saying, “Find Happiness.” Return message from Mike: “Very Zen … are you joking?” Jon’s reply: “Not joking Grasshopper”. The unspoken implication is that virtually every marathoner has aches and pains before a big event, and every race is a choice that the runner decides to make. At any time before the starting gun goes off, it’s possible to simply decide not to run – however, even with lowered expectations, the satisfaction of finishing the marathon is always a great thrill. Mike’s mantra for that marathon became, “Don’t worry, be happy.” It helped him a lot; it’s amazing how a focused mind can mask all kinds of body aches and pains. It’s actually quite helpful to consider your reasons for running any race. Is it a method for you to “Find Happiness?” If it’s not ultimately enjoyable, then why do it? As you make New Year’s resolutions for 2010, take a few minutes to contemplate why you run. Resolve to find joy in your life and in your running. Be thankful for how lucky you are for your health and ability to exercise. We usually set goals that involve finishing various races, or improving our racing times and personal records. In 2010, along with those things, be sure to celebrate your running and fitness throughout the year. Savor the miles spent with friends and the beautiful places we get to run. Enjoy your energy and freedom to do the activities you enjoy. Play a bit more, and be serious a little less. Running’s “first philosopher”, George Sheehan, once said, “Every mile I run is my first. Every hour on the roads is a new beginning. Every day I put on my running clothes, I am born again. Seeing things as if for the first time, seeing the familiar as unfamiliar, the common as uncommon.” See those things for yourself. Run for the joy of it. And Find Happiness.   “You Had a Bad Day” Wait! Don’t tell us – you made a resolution to lose weight and get healthy this year. Now it’s only 3 days into the New Year and you’re already struggling with it. Everybody sabotages their fitness plans from time to time – even your local running columnists. So we’re not going to beat you over the head this week about all the reasons you should be running. Instead, we’re going to take you through a typical day, and show you just how many opportunities there are to screw things up. Remember the Daniel Powter song called, “You Had a Bad Day”? Here’s a small sampling of the ways you can neglect your fitness plan during the course of 24 hours: Last night, you ambitiously set your alarm 30 minutes early in order to exercise before your work day. But when the alarm goes off, the bed feels so warm and comfortable that you hit the snooze button to linger a bit longer. 10 minutes later, you do the same thing again. And later on, once more. So much for morning exercise. As you shower, you tell yourself that you’ll compensate by hitting the gym at lunchtime, so you pack a duffel bag with workout clothes and figure you’re still right on track for fitness. You’re running a bit behind, and you really aren’t too hungry, so you hurry out the door without eating breakfast. But you’re not fully alert yet, so you swing by Starbucks for a little pick-me-up. You received a gift card for Christmas, so it’s not like you’re spending real money. You order a grande caramel macchiato and a big cranberry muffin. It’s fine, because you skipped breakfast – and now you’re at the top of your game. Arriving at work, you park as close as possible to the building and take the elevator up to the 2nd floor. You stow your duffel bag in the corner and sit down at your computer and catch up on e-mail. 90 minutes later, your office neighbor comes by with some leftover Christmas cookies that his spouse made. (He’s getting rid of them because he resolved to eat healthier in 2008.) You smell the cookies and realize how hungry you are. So you grab a few cookies, which is OK because they’re little ones, and because you didn’t eat breakfast. You eat one of them now, and put the others on your desk to save for the afternoon. 10 minutes later, those are gone as well. At 11:30 your coworkers stop by to invite you out to lunch with them. You stare at your duffel bag for about 2 seconds then agree to go along. It’s OK, because you might be able to quit work a bit early and go for a quick run before going home. You pile into the elevator with your coworkers and head down to the car. You go to your favorite restaurant and order a big meal, since you’re still catching up from breakfast. It’s OK to eat big though, because you’ve started a fitness program, and you’ll burn all those calories off soon enough. During meetings and phone calls after lunch, you gradually feel your energy level wavering. At 3:00 it seems like a good time to visit your coworker who always keeps a bowl full of Reese’s mini Peanut Butter cups at his desk. It’s OK, because those are your favorite candy. You talk to him a bit and idly eat 3 minis, then decide to grab a couple more as you head back to your desk, which is OK, since they’re minis. You sit back down with renewed energy, a smile on your face, and a bit of chocolate on your cheek. You finish the work day make it all the way to your car before you realize that you left the duffel bag in your office. At this point, it’s a total hassle to go back inside to get it, since you’d have to wait for the elevator, then say goodnight to everyone all over again. Besides, you figure that traffic is crazy, so you don’t really have any extra time to work out. It’s OK, because you’ll have three chances to exercise tomorrow. On your way home, you call your family, and decide that it would be a lot easier to go out for pizza instead of cooking dinner tonight – so you meet them at the pizza parlor. You have 3 pieces of pepperoni pizza, 2 pieces of garlic bread and a glass of red wine. It’s OK, because garlic and wine are good for your heart, and because you’re going to skip the spumoni dessert. At home you spend two hours sitting on the couch, catching up on TV and reviewing the newspaper and magazine articles about exercise that you’ve been collecting. As you climb into bed, you try to get a little loving from your spouse, but she complains that you smell like garlic. So you go into the kitchen and have a big bowl of ice cream. It’s OK, because ice cream is your comfort food – and besides, you’re going to set