Running Probably turns one
A new year brings a new set of challenges
Hit the trail early on a cold, dark Sunday morning. Only the hearty ones are out, along with a curious woodland animal or two. My kind of running weather.
I’m doing a 9-mile run with a 4-mile tempo split into two parts by a recovery mile, which is a fancy way of saying I get to run fast for a little while. I’m both nervous and excited about how my body will react after a few days of rest and recovery.
I progress through the warmup and transition into a tempo pace. Nervous excitement gives way to focused concentration. Comfortably hard is what tempo efforts are supposed to feel like, and this certainly qualifies. It’s tough, but sustainable. Challenging, but not impossible.
I’m halfway through the second set of tempo miles when I see another runner coming my way. He looks strong, like he knows what he’s doing. As he gets closer we make eye contact and realize we’re roughly the same age. We nod as we pass each other, each of us heading in opposite directions on the same path.
Aside from coming within a few feet of the biggest coyote I’ve ever seen, the run goes well. I came in a few seconds under my goal pace, which is always a nice feeling. The thing I’ll remember most about this particular morning, however, was the subtle nod exchanged with a fellow runner. (Well, that and the coyote. Holy hell, was that thing huge.)
What that nod symbolized was respect. Two strangers, knowing nothing about one another except that some internal force pulled us out of our warm beds and put us on a trail at that exact moment on a chilly November morning. Our motivations, training, pace, and backgrounds may have all been completely different, but the nod said that we shared a universal truth. That we are runners, and this is what we do.
I started Running, Probably a year ago today as a giant nod to all of you. While our paths may lead us in different directions and our journeys are our own to follow, all of us who take part in this occasionally ridiculous activity are connected by a pursuit that can’t adequately be measured by miles or pace.
We are out here for a reason, whether it’s to stay in shape, or train for a race, or to simply feel alive on a cold, dark morning. Whatever it is that gets us out the door and on the road represents the kind of commitment that deserves to be cultivated and celebrated in equal measure. That’s what we’re trying to do here.
