Wednesday, November 19, 2008

What Motivates Me As A Runner?

I run for a lot, some selfish some not. Stick with me, cause here's the rundown:

1) I run because I can. Long story, and I won’t go into detail. I had a stroke and further complications. The doctors told me afterwards I had a 6% chance of living—that’s not a lot. So, why not run? I mean, when I think back on the life I had, God was that close to pulling the plug on me, yet he didn’t. There’s a reason for everything, and I might as well run. I mean, I just feel blessed to be able to.
2) I run to show up my family. My brother was the 6th best runner in the state of Minnesota (not sure what he’s ranked now), my other brother runs XC also, and my dad’s a marathoner. It would be great to run faster and farther than them. Just sayin’…
3) I run because that’s all I can do. I played five sports in High School: hockey, soccer, baseball, swimming and track. Guess what, I’m not very good at any of them. I’m too small to play hockey, I’m at a standstill with swimming competitively, and I’ve found from the short stint I had with the college track team that I definitely won’t out sprint you. Maybe I’ll figure out how to out- pace and out- distance people.
3a) I run because its inexpensive. I’m in college, and I’m broke. I can’t play hockey even if I was good at it because equipment costs too much. Throw on some shorts, a running shirt, pop in the iPod, and there you go. I mean, I’ll shell out some money for shoes every couple months, but its worth it.
4) I run as an escape. It really is a stress reducer, and that runner’s high is real. Big paper due next class? Don’t worry about it, go for a run. Seriously, the number of miles you run is directly related to the grade you get on that paper. Book it, that’s going to be my graduate dissertation.
5) It looks good for the ladies. Well, I already look good, but…

I realized I just answered why I run subconsciously. Now I’m going to answer the real question.

Music motivates me. Like I said already, I played hockey, I was a goalie, so I’m a fan of really loud music. I love like some Blindside or Rev Theory to get the adrenaline going before a run and to help you out during the rough patches. I mean, your ears are still ringing by the time you fall asleep, but you really can’t beat that feeling.

0 comments: