That First Mile

Me in 2009 right before the start of the The Other Half Marathon in Moab, UT. Also, the last time I seriously exerted myself in the name of running.

I run I jog. Not everyday, not even every week these days. But still, I make an effort...sometimes. I don't especially care about running. I don't time myself, push myself to get better, or subscribe to Runner's World (and if I did I would probably only read the feel good personal essays anyway.) What I care about is keeping my stress levels below some manageable thresh hold, my sanity above some indicator of reasonable mental health and, quite frankly, a consistent jean size.

But I don't LOVE jogging.  Any other exercise that was cheap to maintain, easy to access, and could get me just as much exertion for time put in (outdoors) would do just as well for me.  And, given my luke-warm affair with the sport, it's no big stretch to realize I never get better at jogging. Always, I run the same speed, roughly the same distance, and infrequently enough to always feel like that first mile is going to give me a heart attack.

But here's the thing--I don't care to get any better. I don't care to get faster. I don't care if I run longer distances. I don't even care if I walk across the finish line at the Bolder Boulder this year.

And so, I never take any steps to improve. I keep doing the same things over and over. I run the same routes. I run the same (somewhat) comfortable speed. I haven't even purchased new running shoes in like two years!

There are many things I do want to do really, really well--take writing for instance. It takes time, effort, energy...study, to get better at anything.

The thing is, there are only so many hours in a day. Thus, running I don't care to invest any more time in than it takes me to throw on a pair of faded sweats and head out my front door. For me, what has helped me focus my efforts is being honest with myself and differentiating between the things I do want to spend my time becoming skilled at (writing) and the things that don't make me insane with jealously to see others outpace me (not writing--running.)

So what do you think--what are you okay with just being okay at?