Full Disclosure: I
don’t know much about Sex, Drugs or Rock and Roll, and I certainly don’t get
any of them from running….well, I suppose I may get more sex from running. I’m certainly much more fit and healthy and
would like to think I’m more attractive with 65 less pounds of fat on me. I’d also like to think that my wife finds me
attractive regardless of my weight, and I’m sure she does. Being in good shape can’t hurt though. Even if her attraction to me is entirely pure
and altruistic, I have more confidence in myself, which definately makes a
person more attractive. ( Mental Note to
self: This could be a future topic worth
exploring. ) Anyway…..I noticed that my most popular blog posting was
“Committing a Marathoning Sin” I’m kind
of curious if that post had content that was better received, or the title just
popped up as a result of some salacious googling. I figured if I put a little titillation in
this Title and this one quickly climbs up the popular post list, I’ll know the increased blog traffic has
nothing to do with me. I want to use
this blog to document my transformation from non marathoner to marathoner,
provide an outlet for what’s on my mind, and hopefully get people thinking and
commenting. If all I cared about was
generating traffic, I’d just post pictures of naked celebrities, and the latest
headlines from The National Enquirer, so that is definitely the least important
of the goals for me. I started a draft
this morning dealing with the famous quote: “ It’s better to have loved and
lost than never to have loved at all” I
was going to make a strong case against that sentiment, but the posting got
pretty dark and while it’s writing was cathartic for me, it would not have made
for enjoyable reading for anyone, so I opted for a topic a little more related
to running. So without any further ado…
What I get from running:
Time to think.
I can completely control my mental environment. I chose what I listen to, what I think about,
and what I want to imagine. Those
moments are vital to my sanity, and hard to find during the day.
Patience. I
don’t necessarily notice extra patience when I run, but I ( and my whole family
) notice the lack of it when I don’t run.
I was working on a project with my 6 year old son not too long ago and
it wasn’t going well. He suggested we take a break and I go for a run. From the mouths of babes…..
Confidence/Self Esteem: When I started seriously running last year, I
used to set the treadmill at 10 minute miles and I had to work my way up to 30
minutes. I want to always remember that
because I’ve come a long way. I’ve
gotten much faster, thinner and stronger.
I know this and it makes me feel good.
Call me shallow and vain, but I love it when I see people I haven’t seen
for a while and they comment on my new look.
Good Health: I
used to be plagued with back trouble, fatigued all the time, eat like crap and
have trouble sleeping. All of those
things have improved through my running, and have a direct impact on my over
all health and my quality and quantity of life.
I’ve probably extended my life expectancy by 10 years.
Social Benefits:
I have a group of running friends now and people that I see on a regular
basis through running activities. For a
cynical, anti-social, hermit like person, that’s pretty significant. It’s very healthy for me mentally to be
actively taking part in the world around me, and actually enjoying it.
So those are some of the things that I get from
running. Do you get those too ? Did I leave something off the list that you
think is important ? Was this a boring
topic and you’d like to suggest another one ?
Comment below or drop me a line at GBarry65@gmail.com
Thanks for reading, and no matter what….
Just Don’t Stop Running !
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