Good Deed #11: Keeping the Pace

Several years ago I was handed a heavy dose of reality. After graduating college I was quickly humbled by my peers who seemed to possess an infinite amount of talents beyond my own. As I searched for those special ingredients that my teachers had informed me that I had been blessed with, I began to see that running was something that had come as naturally to me as writing this blog. It was first through the observance of others that this "skill" was noticed and through their insistence, I learned to accept it, albeit reluctantly.

Throughout this blog, you will see that a lot of the "good deeds" that I do involve running. I will have you know that it wasn't until 3.5 years ago that I ran over a mile at a time. I just never liked doing it. However, I learned that I was good at it and through my quest to make a difference I have found that my legs can help contribute to a lot of causes (beyond my own). People who see me run assume that I love to do it, when in fact, I couldn't see a more useless waste of time. What I enjoy about running is the relationship it has with athletics and competition. Since I have always fashioned myself as an athlete, I think about running in the same terms as I did when I competed. That is to say, I used to play for my teams to win. Now, I run to make a statement. This year I will log a lot of miles on my feet. In many cases I'll probably run the same loops, trails and dimly lit streets listening to "Journey and Eminem" on my iPod more than I care to acknowledge right now. In the back of my mind though I can accept that I ran for a purpose and that my motivation is to contribute in whatever means I can. Step by step, stride by stride and race by race.

On Tuesday my boss was taking his semi-annual PT test. He had worked very hard at trying to slim down in the previous months so that he was prepared. When he asked me if I would pace him, I said yes right away since it's easy and I don't have to ice my knees after 10+ miles (not yet) and I am pretty good at it. The only thing that running cuts into is time. And as I've said before, it is the time that makes the biggest difference in other people's lives.