My 4 and 5 year old daughters wanted to race me down the street this morning. It was the kind of race where they start running, get ten feet ahead, then say, "ready, set, go" to me. It's a blast. They laugh, and scream when I get close to catching them. My 4 year old got half-way through the race, stopped and said she was tired. I was past her, trying to catch the 5 year old, but after I stopped and ran back to check on her, she took off and sped ahead of me again, looking back with a huge smile and giggle.
Other authors have pointed out how little kids run without regard to form, arms and legs flying all over the place, and generally, huge smiles on their face. They run with pure joy. They also don't have the aches and pains and stresses that us older folks tend to suffer from. They don't run against a clock. They don't race to break the tape. We generally run to be the first to touch the car door. Or the mail box. Kids run because they enjoy it. They like to move.
We adults tend to lose that pure joy as we get older. I like to think that running is still fun, and that's why I do it. But it's also about relaxation, and exercise. It gets more complicated as we get older.
I have a friend in the media (I won't mention him by name) who runs four or five miles every day. He loves running. But when I encouraged him to show up at a race with me, he laughed and politely declined. He said he runs because he likes to run, but he has no interest in racing.
That's a foreign concept for many of us, but I respect, even envy it. Running should be all about freedom and enjoyment. I tell people all the time that running is a great workout, but so are other activities like swimming and biking and yoga. You should do what you enjoy, because you are more likely to keep doing it.
Since I was about ten years old, running has been what I enjoy, but it's also been about competition. Through high school and college track and cross country, the competition was a bit more intense, but even these days, I compete with myself or against the clock in an effort to reach a goal time. For many of us, races also tend to offer an incentive to follow a more structured training regimen. When you have a race looming, it tends to get you out the door on days when you might rather stay in and relax.
Perhaps you can tell I'm a bit more philosophical this week after failing to reach my goal time in the marathon I ran last week. I was definitely crushed at my performance in the race, and spent a lot of time last week thinking about why I ran so poorly when it counted. Heck, I didn't even stick around after the race to enjoy the post-race party.
Running has always occupied an important part of my life, and it's full of contradictions at times. The desire to run fast and competitively against the desire to run free and for fun is perfect example. I like to run to relieve the stresses of everyday life, but then I tend to add stresses by setting ambitious goals in running. Go figure.
In any case, I think there is something magical about running with my kids. It reminds me of what it's all about. Running is a gift. We should embrace it.
See you on the trails......
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