Obsessed with Running

I haven't really written anything in a while because..... life happens =)

I guess it's time to break the silence... and what better way than to talk about something I've been really obsessed with lately...Running.

Call me crazy but Running has kept me sane. I love to run. In fact just as I am about to finish a run, I can't help but think about when my next one will be. It's that bad. Or if I can's sleep at night, I spend my time looking through running websites or my ever favorite Runnersworld.com just reading, browsing, internalizing things about running.

I now find myself running more than playing badminton, which I used to do three to four times a week. Now running occupies most of my off time, as I often run at night during weekends and during the wee hours of the morning on Sundays.

My favorite part of the run is during early mornings, when people are fast asleep and you know you (and your runner friends) are the only ones crazy enough to wake up early to do what other people think is a form of torture. In fact many times already, I see people just about to pack up from a gimik night out, and I'm there stretching and ready to run. I like running just as the sun is about to come out, the air still cool and chilly, with everything totally quiet and you just have yourself to deal with. Time when I center my thoughts on anything and everything, where I get to re-think, solve, ponder, troubleshoot on things that happened to me during the week. Let's just say its like my own personal TIVO time, but in this case everything is replayed in my head.

Believe me, long runs are quite therapeutic (nay on torture). Once you've been running long enough, distance is just a number. Imagine I used to be able to run for maybe just 15 minutes at a time. Now, my long runs reach 3 hours or longer and I don't feel the hours dragging by at all. Long runs are like weekly massages for those into that, or maybe parlor days for the more kikay ones. It's my alone time. And I love it!

I read this article on Runnersworld.com and it inspired me....
hope it inspires you too.

I AM NOT A JOGGER

I may waddle when I run, but I'm running all the same

By John Bingham
Photographs by Tim Bower


PUBLISHED 09/19/2007


The late Dr. George Sheehan, beloved Runner's World columnist and arguably the first running boom's premier philosopher, once wrote that the difference between a runner and a jogger was a signature on a race application. (For the youngsters out there, there was a time before online registration when you actually filled out a paper application, signed it, attached a check, and mailed it in. Quaint, I know.) As succinct as Dr. Sheehan's definition was, it made the point. If you were motivated enough to train for and participate in an organized running event, then you were a runner. Anyone willing to risk public failure in order to be a part of the running community--no matter what his or her pace per mile might be--was a runner. Period. Kind of hard for anyone to argue with that logic.

But a few months ago, an ad ran in this magazine that drew a very hard line between runners and joggers. I immediately heard from tons of readers who were upset by the distinction. To me, however, such definitions are meaningless, since those of us who call ourselves runners already know why we call ourselves runners. Your reasons may be different from mine, but here's why I know I am a runner:

I AM A RUNNER because my runs have names. I do tempo runs and threshold runs and fartlek runs. I do long, slow runs and track workouts. My runs are defined, even if my abs are not.

I AM A RUNNER because my shoes are training equipment, not a fashion statement. The best shoe for me is the one that makes me a better runner. I choose the shoe that goes with my running mechanics, not my running outfit.

I AM A RUNNER because I don't have running outfits. I have technical shirts and shorts and socks. I have apparel that enhances the experience of running by allowing me to run comfortably. I can say "Coolmax" and "Gore-Tex" in the same sentence and know which does what.

I AM A RUNNER because I know what effort feels like, and I embrace it. I know when I'm pushing the limits of my comfort and why I'm doing it. I know that heavy breathing and an accelerated heart rate--things I once avoided--are necessary if I want to be a better runner.

I AM A RUNNER because I value and respect my body. It will whisper to me when I've done too much. And if I choose to listen to that whisper, my body won't have to scream in pain later on.

I AM A RUNNER because I am willing to lay it all on the line. I know that every finish line has the potential to lift my spirits to new highs or devastate me, yet I line up anyway.

I AM A RUNNER because I know that despite my best efforts, I will always want more from myself. I will always want to know my limits so that I can exceed them.

I AM A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far.

I AM A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not.

Waddle on, friends.