Running On Empty

So I run... it's what I do... and I don't mean away from problems or confrontation. I mean I put on Asics, shorts, and t-shirt and physically run. Like today, I ran the seven miles from my work to my apartment over the Brooklyn Bridge up the east side and then over the Williamsburg Bridge...

I have been running ever since I was 4 or 5 years old when my parents used to take me to Harkness Park in Waterford, CT and race me against other kids my age like a greyhound dog. But unlike most sports' parents who burn their kids out by the time they are 13, mine really did not bring me to those races to win, they just wanted to try to calm me down for ten minutes of their lives. (really when I think about it, i probably should have worn a helmet when I was little)

To this day, I continue to do it, and as a result, the obsession has continued to grow in that I recently completed my first marathon. Through it all, however, I think that the driving force behind my love of running is that I love the solidarity (I run alone, always) and I love the fact that through running you get a unique perspective of the area in which you live because instead of being underground or in a car or whatever, you are exposed to everything around you on a very unprotected basis. I get to run over bridges instead being transported across them... I feel the wind, the rain, the snow, and the sun without a buffer.

Running provides me with something unique, something pure, and admittingly something completely crazy. In the end, however, that is why I love it because too often, I think that we stay inside when it rains or snows or never get to enjoy a really nice day and especially in New York City where we spend most of our time in an office or under the ground and that exposure passes us by. But when I run, I get to deal with all of it and frankly, I love it.