Running Like Me (Happy Running)

4/15/12

Running Like Me (Happy Running)

Today’s run at Forget the PR 50k was much different than 2 weeks ago… I really enjoyed the whole experience.  That was always my main goal.  I ran at my own pace, even if it meant continually switching leads with others, and getting 2^nd place.

I kept a steady pace the whole race.  I talked to people.  I remembered to look at the scenery, smile more often, and feel grateful.  I used practices from “The Happiness Project”.   One practice I had done before, but it felt stronger giving it a name.

 I kept a mental “gratitude list” (like a gratitude notebook) of what I was thankful for.  This list went from having 2 legs to run on, to being in nature, and from the great people I have in my life to thinking “I can get a big bowl of ice cream after this”. 

I also “ran the way I wanted to feel” (taken from “act the way I want to feel”).  Easier said than done, but I think it helped a bit. 

These two things especially helped when my hip started acting up.  Like Sandi said in her “Secret of Adulthood”, “it’s easier to focus on the bad than the good…but you can’t use that as an excuse anymore.”

(I was also especially delighted when Sandi called me today.  Neither of us are big on talking on the phone, but being so far away from each other, I really enjoy being able to hear her voice and talk.  She actually called as soon and I sat down in Rocky the Land Rover…I heard my phone vibrating and new it was her…and Steve, who could walk better at the moment, went back and for the multiple times from my seat to the trunk trying to find the right bag with the my phone in it. What a good boyfriendJ. )

Forget the PR is also notorious for its’ very hilly course…another reason why I loved the race so much.  Actually, at every big hill I couldn’t help to think about how much I loved hills!  Why do I love hills so much? Mainly for this reason: they are all about making challenges into opportunities.  A perfect metaphor for life.  (Plus, they can also mean a walking break, and/or a chance to pass a guy walking much slower).

Anyway, it seems as if they key to a good race is to simply “run like me”, and the key to a happy adventure (life) is to be me.

Happy Adventures,

Rach