First, let me just say that I think she is an amazing and strong woman. Reading her blogs not only make me want to be a better runner, they make me want to become a better person. When I'm feeling down or lazy, I mosey on over to her blog and it successfully motivates me to get up off my tuckus and do something (which some days take a lot). If you have never read it, you really should (http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/)
Second, I love hearing the inner thoughts of runners like me: runners who run because it makes them feel alive, fulfilled, and calm. Sure, time counts on the outside. And it feels great to keep passing people on the indoor track (haha). But, on the inside, I see things such as times and PRs as the frosting on the cupcake; it's absolutely delicious and sweet at first, but you can't subsist on it. In order to keep running and keep pushing, there has to be something more...an inner drive, per se.
So when I stumbled across her post for February 3rd, 2008 I was floored by this passage. It somehow embodied everything that I feel a "real" runner is, or should be.
This brings us back to the introduction of my post today. Every single
one of us connected here today understands the implication of the "I am"
statement below:
I am a runner.
This has nothing whatsoever to do with
race results, placings, PR's, split times, training programs, gender, age,
racing schedule, weekly mileage, or pace bands. This has to do with
something deep, something tender, something profound, something powerful and
something untouchable about who we are in our hearts. This is why we
recognize each other, on the road or in coffee shops, and we nod and
smile. This is why we are never alone, even if we are training far from
our hometown or way outside our comfort zone. Even if no other "I am"
statement feels good about our life at the moment, we always have that one.
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