I Run Because It Is Who I Am

As National Running Day fast approaches this coming Wednesday, June 1^st, it causes me to reflect on this past year and who I am as a runner. National Running Day falls on the first Wednesday of June each year, but this year is special because it marks exactly 365 days from the date of my foot surgery as well. Suffering my first serious injury has enabled me to grow a lot as a person—not just a runner. I always like to say that the “R” in running stands for “Relationships”, and having some downtime to reflect and invest in others has proven this beyond a shadow of a doubt for me. Running is not something I just do for myself. It is my life. Nearly having it taken away from me has made me love it even more. Giving the gift of running to others is one of the most rewarding things I have found in my life.

That being said, I am so excited about what we are doing with the RunningWorks team on Wednesday for National Running Day. In order to raise awareness for poverty in the Carolinas and beyond—as well as challenge the stigma associated with the homeless population, we are “setting up shop” on the busiest corner in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina (the corner of Trade and Tryon Streets) to run for 12 hours with our homeless groups, community partners and volunteers. At all times, someone will be running various one mile loops in matching RunningWorks shirts in a coordinated effort to draw attention to the misconceptions and realities involved with our heroic family. It has been amazing to see how much the community has rallied behind this effort and supported the idea we put together in a short amount of time. It has not been a competitive effort, but rather a collaborative one with all of the running stores, race companies and partners working together and becoming one.

Special Branded National Running Day Shirts for RunningWorks

 I would to challenge all of you to think about why it is you run. Use the hashtag #IRunBecause and #RWTeam for National Running Day, and be sure to follow our effort. If you live in the area, please feel free to come out and join us! We will be there from 6am-6pm before heading down to our regular Wednesday evening program at the NoDa Run Club, 2229 N. Davidson, for a family dinner. See the attached link to our website for more information.

http://www.runningworks.org/runningworks-to-celebrate-national-running-day-on-wednesday-june-1/

Running has helped to open my eyes to the world in which I live, and challenged me to see the bigger picture of life. I hope that the things you are passionate about in life do the same for you. I am grateful for the opportunity everyday to “get” to do something I love with the people I love the most. We never “have” to do anything. It is a gift. Running works. Onward!

Quotes to Live By

Here are just a few quotes that inspire me and keep me focused on why I live my life the way I do. Please feel free to comment and share some of your favorite or most meaningful quotes. I would love to learn what fuels your fire!

"The only easy day was yesterday." 

Coach Greg Adamson

"Whether you think you can or you can't--you're right."

Meredith Dolhare

"The only day of the week that doesn't exist is someday."

"Workouts aren't meant to show how fast you are, they prepare you to run fast." 

Coach Scott Simmons

Proverbs 3: 5-6 (NIV)

5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    and lean not on your own understanding;

6: in all your ways submit to him,

    and he will make your pathsstraight. 

Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

"I learned English by watching movies and listening to the radio." 

My coach Ruud Van Thienen (who is from Belgium), M.D and Ph.D in Exercise Physiology

"You only have one chance to make a first impression."--Aaron Kersey

"I quit school because of recess, I don't play."

Dad

"I love you more than you will ever know."

Mom

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Now let us get the conversation started!

The Competitive Edge

My Inspiration for "bringing it" to everything

If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that if you have a truly competitive spirit, it never leaves you. Even though I have been injured and struggling to get back to my prior level of racing, training and competing, I have been witness to others attempting to find their edge in addition to enjoying various sports where I have seen mine emerge with a vengeance at key times. This gives me hope that I will be able to really “bring it” when I am back in my favorite oval—track nation.

When coaching at the high school level, it is all about learning and having fun, but also so important to be able to find that extra gear within—especially at championship meets or to qualify for them. The “competitive gear” needs to match the “fun gear”, and if you find the balance between those two elements of running then the pressure that comes will be welcome. The mind wills the body to perform outside of yourself and possibly even current fitness—almost like pure adrenaline. For example, at 2013 USA Nationals, I ran a 51.1-second last 400m to finish in 4^th place in a star-studded field, but I had not run a 51-second 400m in any workout or meet all year—even in an 800m! The body will find a way if the mind is trained to compete.

My dad doing all the things he loves...BEST

I was blessed to grow up watching one of the best athletes I have ever seen “bring it” time and again in every sport imaginable—football, basketball, baseball, golf, bowling, ping pong, tennis, name it. I’m speaking of my Dad. He was the quarterback at Furman University for four years, and is still the biggest stud I know. He scored 52 points in a high school basketball game, batted over .500 for a season in baseball, can throw a football more than 60 yards, bowled 250, shot 35 on nine holes, and ran 400m in 55-seconds at 6’3”/220lbs just to give a frame of reference. To quote him, “he quit school because of recess because he does not play.” Even now, he beats me at almost everything because he refuses to lose. It doesn’t matter if I am beating him for 90 percent of the duration of whatever game we are playing (even Scrabble or Horse)—at the last minute he is clutch. Just this weekend, he won the Captain’s Choice Golf Tournament for the Furman Football Alumni Association at 62-years-old. That is the competitive edge I wish for every single person reading this and think about each time I walk onto the track. He even beat cancer.

My first golf outing in years with my best friend from college, his dad and my dad

The influence of my Dad throughout the years has helped me through this tough time of transition from surgery, as I have not been competing in MY sport right now. However, I have enjoyed playing a few others like basketball and golf—things I had not really done in years. Frankly, I didn’t expect much. Yet, like my Dad (and because of him), when I needed to find that extra gear at the end, to change the fun gear to the competitive one, it happened seamlessly. It gave me confidence and made the entire outing much more enjoyable! I know I’ll have it in the last 400m of my races, and I am looking forward to proving that. The best part of playing other sports is exercising that competitive muscle during clutch times—the feeling of pressure, the adrenaline, the knowing when to step up and take a shot, to take a chance. There is nothing quite like it. Experience playing anything helps hone this skill. Just ask my Dad.

With the best parents ever--and of course my dad had to beat us to the top