More Than Running…

Newton’s Laws of Motion

Posted on November 15, 2013. Filed under: Running | Tags: balance, challenge, character, fitness, goals, half marathon, health, marathon, mental games, mind/body connection, morethanrunning, running, San Antonio, San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon, self discipline, Texas |

Liar liar pants on fire.

That’s what I said to myself the moment I hit Send on an email a couple of days ago. I was explaining to someone that I wasn’t too concerned about this Sunday’s half marathon.  Since my training was interrupted, my intention was simply to go and have fun, run comfortably, not worry about time.

The truth is, however, that once I get there—heck, once I pick up my race packet on Saturday—I go into competition mode. In fact, I believe it’s already begun. The mental focus that blocks out nearly everything else.  The tightening in my stomach, not nerves (yet), but a physical focus that starts at the core and radiates energy to my arms and legs. (It’s better than coffee by far.) The sudden urge for only healthy food, fuel. No slip-ups with ice-cream or the stash of bite-size Milky Ways in my freezer.

I can’t seem to help it—it happens automatically.  And I’m not sure I want to.

I like competing. I love pushing my body so far that even I am amazed at what it can do. Racing is one of the few times when I am so attuned to my body that I can step outside of it, get out of its way and let it do what it knows how to do. It’s one of the few times I can be one and apart, alone and with others simultaneously.  It’s a joy I cannot describe.

But I don’t have to. Talking’s not a part of it. I just need to run.

Where did I put those matches?

Make a Comment

3 Responses to “Newton’s Laws of Motion”

Comments RSS Feed

Where's The Comment Form?