My Relationship with Running

What is my relationship with running?

Well, on the good days it’s like a full-blown steamy love affair. You know, the kind you have when you’re sixteen. Everything is good, intense and right now. No worries about the past and no thoughts about the future. Just now!  All you want to do, all the time, every time.

Then, there are the times when it’s like a 25-year marriage. That tried and true I-know-what-you’re-thinking-before-you-even-say-it kind of relationship. The kind of relationship that knows what to expect and knows what is to be expected. It’s not flashy and it’s certainly not sexy but it’s there, day in and day out, always.  Kind of like the thing you’d only truly notice when it’s gone.

On occasion it’s like having a brother. You know, you call each other from time to time and occasionally get together to take in a ballgame or a happy hour but for the most part you are connected because you have the same mom and you like the same things. That, most of the time, is enough.  And, even if it’s not enough, you just deal with it.

There are those times the relationship is a bit mentor/mentee. You know, think “Tuesday’s With Morrie” or something like that. These are not the best days of the relationship but they do help you get through the bad days and give you the reason to get out again tomorrow. And, these tough times make the good times better. And heck, who ever really likes having a mentor anyway?

And then, at last, it’s like that “best friend” relationship. You know the one. The relationship that defies convention and resists definition. The relationship that persists 20 years after college graduation and the relationship that remembers little things about you, warts and all, from years and years of history. The relationship that helps you understand who you are and who you want to be. The relationship that makes you whole.

So, running, here’s to you!

My lover, spouse, brother, mentor, and friend.

Bottoms up!