Sore.... Sore.... feet!

“And what do you expect to get from this...” asked my Grandma as we sat around the dinner table...confusion and disbelief over my upcoming 72 hour adventure....

“Sore Feet” Chimed my grandpa.. with sparkle and laughter in his eyes....

“Yes, Sore feet!!.” I chimed back....

Sore... sore... feet.....

What do you expect to get from this??? Why do you do that?? Your crazy....!! Why do you punish yourself???

The age old question.... Why???

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we look at the simple marathon and scream to ourselves...

IT’S NOT ENOUGH!!

What is it we are lacking in our lives that compels us to push our body’s harder... further... up steeper and steeper inclines....

Past the point of fatigue and pain...

Beyond the boundaries of what the mind and the world say is our limits????

Yes.... what is it we are lacking???

Enlighten me...

Or perhaps for a moment indulge me...

For what you see as lacking...

I see as full....

The famous quote says....

“Run the first third with your legs...

The second third with your mind....

And the Last third....

That you run with your heart....”

As I was laying on the famous Dr. Dan's table... having him work on my Sore.. Sore feet, he commented... “those work injuries seem like nothing”.... meaning in comparison the things us crazy runners bring him.....

Recently I’ve been referring him my "WCB" employee’s...

With their tweaks, and pinches....

What the normal person sees as a major issue... a light sprain...

A pulled muscles.... we runners tend to ignore....

Bringing ourselves in only when we need it most....

Because we understand our bodies...

We know what they are capable of...

How they heal themselves...

 We are at one with ourselves....

As we discussed the minor pains Dan said something that struck me...

Work injuries are major... only because they are far away from the heart....

We chatted about that statement a few moments...

As I pointed to the painful top of my foot...

And for the first time in 7 years Dan asked me the age old question....

Why, do you do this? What do you get from it....

“I suppose the endorphin rush is crazy”...

Again I was left with a lackluster response....

The “I cannot describe it... it’s the oneness with yourself...”

That is why I do it....

I pondered the question on my drive home....

Mulling over my recent run...

The accomplishments of defeat...

The moments I faced my demons head on....

And laid them to rest....

The bonds formed over 30minute miles...

The laughter....

The tears...

And then the more tears....

The ability to see someone you admire... who is so strong.... and amazing... and to look them in the eye when they are struggling.... put a hand on their shoulder and urge them forward....

To have them urge you forward in your dark moments..

For the sunrise and sunsets.... the star filled nights...

The wild lightening storms...

The mountain trails.... and the insane views....

To see the world in a way so many will never encounter...

Because when I run my senses are sharper....

Life tastes better.....

Because it makes me whole....

It completes me in a way I cannot describe to you....

Because it is “close to my heart....”

Hell...

It is my heart.....

That is why I do it.....

Because to me...

It’s as natural as breathing...

And more fulfilling than anything this world can offer....

That...

And as my grandpa said...

It gives me Sore... Sore.... Feet!