The NY Times recently did a great feature called How to Start Running — but for many people, How to Keep Running might be more useful.
I’ve been at it since the early 1990s, never once on a treadmill and almost always before sunrise. It’s not getting better, unless you consider covering shorter distances at a slower pace as somehow better.
I may be long past my peak, but that’s OK.
These days, my runs are tracked on a GPS watch, but back in the day, I scribbled notes in composition books, noting my route, distance and time. Here’s a page from nearly 20 years ago:
Wow, I was really something. Today? Shorter and slower.
Running as a metaphor for life is a well-worn shoe. It’s usually invoked to speak of endurance and perseverance. The value of hard work in achieving a goal. But the sad truth is that it’s also about decline and decay and giving way to age.
But so what? I hope I run on the day I die, even if it’s just for a short distance. Even the most miserable run makes any day better.