Running and Marriage

Well I have been busy, not much time for writing in my blog. I had a good labor day weekend that included delicious bbq chicken, corn on the cob, and potato salad. The wedding plans are about finalized and we have started moving into the new house. So with all this good stuff going on I have not exactly made much time for running. I guess certain situations (weddings) call for a little time out, no matter what the goal. My body will be okay, I will get one more 5 miler in today, but after that I will have to rely on hiking next week as my source of exercise. Hiking on the honeymoon will be great in Glacier Natl Park, Montana!!!! Wish me luck in my quest down the isle this weekend.

wedding

So in nine days I will be a married man, this last days leading up to the wedding have been hectic I admit, not with the wedding planning, but trying to get as much work done as I can before I leave for a week. Unfortunately I have been working in Chicago these past months for work; which is part of the reason it has been so easy for me to find time to go running no matter what the hour. My runs lately have been boring to talk about though, just easy runs to get my legs back in shape. My fiance is living in our home town in Columbia, Missouri where she works and takes care of my house and my dog, both of which will soon be hers.

It is tough living on the road, that is one of the reasons I like running so much right now, it takes my mind of the fact that I am away from my friends, fiance, and dog. It is depressing to think about being on the road all the time, I feel like I am missing out on so much, like I missed out on my entire summer. Everyday is precious and I do my best not to waste it. That is why I am going to run from Columbia to St. Louis, I don't want to look back on anything and say I wish I would of....

run run run

I have been unable to write very often these past couple of days, so I do apologize. I have not gotten too much more intense on my runs, just 6 milers. Oh but there was the run over the weekend where I went for my run in the evening just as the sun was setting. I thought I knew where I was going for this loop, wrong! As the sun set I made a turn and then another, this second turn was the wrong turn putting me down a road across the river where there was not many bridges back to the other side. So I just had to keep running, turning my six mile run into a seven mile run. It wasn't that bad, but when you are out of shape, it hurts. I have done similar things to that before, but all the other times were when I was in great marathon shape and knew that I could run forever.

I enjoy running, without the ipod, without the sounds of a city especially. I love running to get away from all the noise. It gives me a kind of meditative feel, especially when running through Rock Bridge State Park in Missouri, with the winding path through the woods and the trickling streams, it is very relaxing. At the same time I love running the Chicago Marathon because of the beauty of a big city. You will never find a better way to experience a city like Chicago or New York than running the marathon, what a great tour.

I do not run anymore to try to finish first, I run for no one but myself, I have nothing to prove, I love to use running as a tool for good deeds, it takes me to places that I would never have gone otherwise (both physically and mentally), it is the most relaxing sport that I have ever been apart of; not golf, baseball, soccer, basketball, frisbee, or any other sport that I have competed in has brought me to a greater state of happiness. I hate to lose so maybe that's why I like it so much, I have won in all the other sports I have played, only a select few get to win in cross-country, and I never won while I was running in high school or as a youth. Everything I do now in my spare time is not because I want to win, but because I enjoy it and it helps me feel better. Maybe that was a ramble, but I think I got my point out somehow.....