Several days ago, I went for a tempo run around 4:00 pm. I tripped on the concrete sidewalk and planted on my knees. My shoulder deflected my face from any injuries. Yet my knees were gashed and bleeding, and my shoulder stung.
Do I go home or keep running? Well, while the obvious answer to you might have been to stop. However, I kept running, only to look down and realize that I must have looked like a victim of crime and the skin on my right knee was opened badly. So I hobble-ran home and poured hydrogen peroxide on my battle wounds. They are ugly, and they are uncomfortable still, but healing nicely.
My experience with running is more than just an athletic endeavor to keep me healthy and in shape. It’s more than a race or one day competition. Overall, running has taught me a lot about life, moving forward, and consistency. Sometimes, my work day downright sucks. Sometimes, I fall and harm myself when I run. Yet, I pick myself off, brush off the internal wounds of shattered pride and keep on going. There is always a new way to approach a run and a new way to approach my life. So, naturally one day later, I ran again. It’s easier to dwell on the bruises and make excuses for not running or going to the gym, but it only hurts the mind and body of this thought process. Similarly, when I dwell on the negatives of life, it only harms me and my own happiness. Training for races correlates well with training for life.
Next time I run on this:
Not this:
