Last week, when I was out to dinner with some friends, someone asked,
"So Andy, tell us, what is your relationship with running?"
Um, well, that's an interesting question...
I totally bungled the answer and then we moved on with the evening but the question stuck with me as most good questions do.
It lingered...
What is my relationship with running?
Well, on the good days it's like a full-blown steamy love affair. You know, the kind you have when you're sixteen. Everything is good, intense and right now. No worries about the past and no thoughts about the future. Just now!
Then, there are the times when it's like a 20-year marriage. That tried and true I-know-what-you're-thinking-before-you-even-say-it kind of relationship. The kind of relationship that knows what to expect and knows what is to be expected. It's not flashy and it's certainly not sexy but it's there, day in and day out, always.
On occasion it's like having a brother. You know, you call each other from time to time and occasionally get together to take in a ballgame or a happy hour but for the most part you are connected because you have the same mom and you like the same things. That, most of the time, is enough.
There are those times the relationship is a bit mentor/mentee. You know, think "Tuesday's With Morrie" or something like that. These are not the best days of the relationship but they do help you get through the bad days and give you the reason to get out again tomorrow. And, these tough times make the good times better. And heck, who ever really likes having a mentor anyway?
And then, at last, it's like that "best friend" relationship. You know the one. The relationship that defies convention and resists definition. The relationship that persists 20 years after college graduation and the relationship that remembers you, warts and all, from years and years of history. The relationship that helps you understand who you are and who you want to be. The relationship that makes you whole.
So, running, here's to you!
My lover, spouse, brother, mentor, and friend.
6 comments:
For me it's like the relationship with a prostitute. You pay your fee and hopefully get it done in less than 5 hours.
It's like Tom Cruise and his hot girlfriends...just a cover for the fact that you're really into other activities, like beer drinking.
...This is simply a warmup for when LB gets ahold of the comment button on this post :)
Is AJW a runsturbator?
A 1:03 post split for LB...not bad. I would definitely avoid borrowing any of AJW's copies of Trail Runner Mag.
Especially the one with him on the cover.
:2 post split...man, that's like intense interval training, which The Jiz is doing in prep for 11/23 I would hope.
The ONE with him on the cover? With a little "headshot" cutting and pasting I'll bet his collection has him on EVERY cover.
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