The weather was terrible for the annual Billy Taylor 5K race in Guelph. The sky opened early in the morning and continued dumping water on the racers throughout the day. The wind howled and the air was bone-chattering cold, even for April. But I couldn't have cared less.
I was running one of the best races in my 12 year old life, and, besides being a little cold and wet, I was feeling great. I was feeling invincible. No one could match me, not the runners in their professional looking garb or the 'big kids' with their long strides, no one.
And that is when I learned a very humbling and very important lesson.
As I was trotting along, I caught a flash of dull green out of the corner of my eye. I looked sideways and saw a running garbage bag. That couldn't be! A garbage bag running? I looked closer and saw the garbage bag had legs and arms and a head. And the garbage bag, or should I say the person in the garbage bag, was pushing a stroller. The runner whizzed past me without even looking like she was breaking a sweat.
I was shocked. How could someone in a garbage bag and pushing a stroller beat me, the invincible kid, the running phenom?
However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I must have eaten a bad pre-race banana or something to think I was that good and to really believe that just because someone isn't dressed like the front runners in the Boston Marathon doesn't mean they can't run like one.
My run in with the running garbage bag is similar to all sort of situations in life.
Sometimes we get too arrogant and believe that just because someone doesn't act the way we do or look the way we do or have the same lifestyle we do that they can't possibly be as successful or righteous as we are. They can't possibly get the deep meaning of a James Joyce novel or care as much about the world and its issues or get those pasta noodles to the same firm, but flexible consistency.
In short we're blinded by our false sense of superiority.
Sometimes we also get complacent. There's nothing wrong with being happy and proud with what you've done and standing back and admiring you're effort. There is something very wrong, however, with doing something well and then thinking that you're finished improving yourself and the world. Continuously improving yourself and those around you is the only way to make this world a better place.
If we fail to keep these things in mind and fall into the traps of over confidence and laziness you could end up the way I did in that race all those years ago and at times since; passed by those who are working harder and helping others more.
You can be great. Scratch that, you're already great, but keep going, keep running the race the best you can, pushing youself and those around you every day and one day you might just become the greatest ever. And remember, don't ever judge a runner by their garbage bag.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Air Guitar Solos are Better then a Six Pack
A little less then a year ago my girlfriend Kelsey embarked on a quest to find out if what the health and fitness magazines said was true; could you actually get a six pack of abs in six weeks. She followed a strenuous workout regimen full of early morning gym sessions and instituted a blitz to purge all unhealthy foods from her diet.
Kelsey documented her adventures on her blog (http://kelseyatkinson.blogspot.com/2010/01/under-construction.html, her journey begins) and I learned a lot of lessons about running and life from her stories and observations.
While running one day, Kelsey was so in the zone, so charged on a runner's high, that she absent-mindedly started playing air guitar in the middle of our university's indoor track. What is even better is that when she noticed she was doing it she didn't stop until she was done her solo.
I loved this story because although Kelsey's quest was hard, painful and discouraging at times she found enjoyment, euphoria and freedom in the midst of it.
Too often when people finally reach their dreams or goals they have forgotten why they even had that certain ambition in the first place. We can become too occupied with reaching the top no matter what and on the way there negative feelings, obstacles, stresses and bad experiences can leave us hating the very thing we once loved.
I've encountered this studying journalism at university. I love to write and ask questions, meet people and be a witness to amazing events, but amongst the stresses of weekly deadlines, tough competition among my peers and discouragingly rude sources I sometimes forget the good I can achieve from reporting and the thrill that comes with it. Same with running. I really love it, but sometimes I forget the joy it brings me and instead my mind and body grow to hate getting out of my comfy bed to run in the pouring rain or chilly air.
But now I always think of the Air Guitar Lesson to help me remember to be thankful for the simple joys in life and the things I love to do, like running or writing, instead of dreading them, like chores I have to do before I can watch more TV.
Instead of growing to hate running, one of the things she loves, Kelsey used the simple joys that it gave her to help her out of the traps that cynicism and stress laid out for her.
I won't spoil the end of Kelsey's quest for you by saying if she was successful in getting a six pack in six weeks or not, although to me her journey, air guitar solos and all, taught me more than the final destination did.
So break out your guitar and turn up the music because doing what you love, and remembering why you love it, will make you feel like a rockstar.
Kelsey documented her adventures on her blog (http://kelseyatkinson.blogspot.com/2010/01/under-construction.html, her journey begins) and I learned a lot of lessons about running and life from her stories and observations.
While running one day, Kelsey was so in the zone, so charged on a runner's high, that she absent-mindedly started playing air guitar in the middle of our university's indoor track. What is even better is that when she noticed she was doing it she didn't stop until she was done her solo.
I loved this story because although Kelsey's quest was hard, painful and discouraging at times she found enjoyment, euphoria and freedom in the midst of it.
Too often when people finally reach their dreams or goals they have forgotten why they even had that certain ambition in the first place. We can become too occupied with reaching the top no matter what and on the way there negative feelings, obstacles, stresses and bad experiences can leave us hating the very thing we once loved.
I've encountered this studying journalism at university. I love to write and ask questions, meet people and be a witness to amazing events, but amongst the stresses of weekly deadlines, tough competition among my peers and discouragingly rude sources I sometimes forget the good I can achieve from reporting and the thrill that comes with it. Same with running. I really love it, but sometimes I forget the joy it brings me and instead my mind and body grow to hate getting out of my comfy bed to run in the pouring rain or chilly air.
But now I always think of the Air Guitar Lesson to help me remember to be thankful for the simple joys in life and the things I love to do, like running or writing, instead of dreading them, like chores I have to do before I can watch more TV.
Instead of growing to hate running, one of the things she loves, Kelsey used the simple joys that it gave her to help her out of the traps that cynicism and stress laid out for her.
I won't spoil the end of Kelsey's quest for you by saying if she was successful in getting a six pack in six weeks or not, although to me her journey, air guitar solos and all, taught me more than the final destination did.
So break out your guitar and turn up the music because doing what you love, and remembering why you love it, will make you feel like a rockstar.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Radio's Advice
On a hot summer's day, about six or seven years ago, I received the weirdest running advice I have ever been given.
My Dad and I were driving along on the suburban roads of my neighbourhood, I forget why, but it probably had something to do with errands, when we flipped on the radio to a baseball game. The game was more or less background noise as my dad and I talked, but suddenly the announcer was screaming and shouting like he had been placed barefoot in the middle of a hot desert.
Me and my father stopped to listen to what the hullaballu was all about. It turned out the center fielder made an excellent catch to perserve his team's lead. The announcer wouldn't stop praising the player who had made the catch and that is when he uttered the advice that will stay with me forever, "And that's why you run on the balls of your feet, so your eyes dont bounce up and down."
It sounded like weird advice, advice that upon experimentation proved true, but weird nonetheless.
I have not really needed it in my running career yet, save the one time I used it to avoid meeting any trees face to face when going down one particularly steep hill in a forest. But I've tried to wring some sort of life lesson out of the radio's strange tip.
The more I thought, the less anything I came up with made any sense. It may have been the fact that I had been pushing buggies for six hours and I was going slightly buggy (pun attack), but it probably had more to do with my overthinking of the wise words.
I realized that I shouldn't just try to get something out of the words that just wasn't there. What I should have really been doing was appreciating the quarkiness and yes, wisdom and strange beauty of those words that described the amazing way in which a talented player caught a ball.
It is important to draw wisdom or knowledge from things in life, like a radiant sunset, a literary masterpiece or a giraffe's kiss. However, at times, simply appreciating things for what they are turns out to be the way we can truly get something from that piece of advice or amazing novel, instead of overanalyzing it or manipulating it to be something it's not.
If you wonder constantly about why Mr. Bean never talks in his movies and try to figure out if it's an allegory for some social injustice in society instead of laughing at his wacky antics then you'll miss the whole movie and the whole point.
So simply enjoy the simple things in life and if you ever want to track down that fly ball in life, make sure to run on the balls of your feet.
My Dad and I were driving along on the suburban roads of my neighbourhood, I forget why, but it probably had something to do with errands, when we flipped on the radio to a baseball game. The game was more or less background noise as my dad and I talked, but suddenly the announcer was screaming and shouting like he had been placed barefoot in the middle of a hot desert.
Me and my father stopped to listen to what the hullaballu was all about. It turned out the center fielder made an excellent catch to perserve his team's lead. The announcer wouldn't stop praising the player who had made the catch and that is when he uttered the advice that will stay with me forever, "And that's why you run on the balls of your feet, so your eyes dont bounce up and down."
It sounded like weird advice, advice that upon experimentation proved true, but weird nonetheless.
I have not really needed it in my running career yet, save the one time I used it to avoid meeting any trees face to face when going down one particularly steep hill in a forest. But I've tried to wring some sort of life lesson out of the radio's strange tip.
The more I thought, the less anything I came up with made any sense. It may have been the fact that I had been pushing buggies for six hours and I was going slightly buggy (pun attack), but it probably had more to do with my overthinking of the wise words.
I realized that I shouldn't just try to get something out of the words that just wasn't there. What I should have really been doing was appreciating the quarkiness and yes, wisdom and strange beauty of those words that described the amazing way in which a talented player caught a ball.
It is important to draw wisdom or knowledge from things in life, like a radiant sunset, a literary masterpiece or a giraffe's kiss. However, at times, simply appreciating things for what they are turns out to be the way we can truly get something from that piece of advice or amazing novel, instead of overanalyzing it or manipulating it to be something it's not.
If you wonder constantly about why Mr. Bean never talks in his movies and try to figure out if it's an allegory for some social injustice in society instead of laughing at his wacky antics then you'll miss the whole movie and the whole point.
So simply enjoy the simple things in life and if you ever want to track down that fly ball in life, make sure to run on the balls of your feet.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Stretch Theory
Grade four was a big year in my running career; it was the year I learned the deep importance of stretching.
Every day after school, from late February to mid April, my elementary school's cross country team would practice. Before every training session the team would gather in the gym to do our stretches and this is where I was to learn a vital lesson.
Usually my friends and I would break into not so quiet "whispering" and tomfoolery after the first few leg stretches while the coach tried to get through a decent warm up. The only time we stopped to actually stretch was to see who could balance for the longest while pulling one leg up behind us and standing on the other.
On this particular day though our coach finally became fed up with our antics. He stopped the warm up with nothing more than silence and a piercing stare at our rowdy group. We froze and a multitude of punishments our coach could inflict came to my mind, each worse than the last.
Suddenly the coach broke the silence. "You think this is a joke boys?" he said, "Well do you wanna know what happens when you don't stretch before a race?"
It wasn't really a question so much as an introduction and our coach proceded to tell us a handfull of squirm-inducing stories about kids who had neglected to stretch and had torn all sorts of muscles and ligements and popped knee caps and such in horrifying ways.
Suffice it to say, no one in that room that day ever forgot to stretch again.
Now although I was scared that day into seeing the importance of stretching I later realized the positive payoff of stretching on my own and although I haven't always been the most vigilant in doing a warm up, I've always run better after completing one.
I have also recognized that stretching isn't just an important tool in helping you run a better race, but also in helping live a more fulfilling life as well.
When you stretch before a race you sometimes reach for a part of your body, like your toes, in an attempt to loosen muscles, and become for flexible so you can use those muscles in a race and decrease your chance of getting a cramp or an injury.
In life you can also stretch, but in a different sense. You can stretch to achieve your goals and dreams.
You may not reach your goals the first time you stretch for them. For example you may not be elected the first time you run for student council or toast your marshmallow to a perfect golden brown the first time you make a s'more, just like you may not be able to touch your toes the first few times you stretch. But if you keep on working and stretching outside of the what you can certainly do to something you want to eventually do then you will finally achieve it, as well as improving yourself and learning lessons and skills along the way.
Just as when you stretch you prepare muscles used in a race, when you stretch for something in life that isn't always easy, like a big promotion or reconciling a broken relationship, you learn other skills and lessons about yourself that can help you in other areas of life. Perserverance, time management and the importance of forgiveness are just a few of these.
Stretching for the hard goals in life may take you outside of your comfort zone to try to achieve objectives that you have never reached before, just like in stretching when you use a muscle that hasn't been used as much or when you can't reach your toes as easily. But in doing this you lift yourself out of the ordinary into the extraordinary and prevent yourself from falling into a rut or routine of laziness or self-pity which can lead to harm or missed opportunities just as in stretching you decrease your chance of getting hurt in a race.
Now injury in running may happen even though you have prepared as much as humanly possible, and life is the same. You may fail, lose or fall down, but getting right back up and out onto the course is also important and stretching is a key part in getting yourself back in the game.
Stretching may be hard work, an arduous exercise that seems unnecesary at times and painful at others, but once you take the time, reach out and grab hold of that vision and plan you'll be ready to jump up and track down your dreams.
Every day after school, from late February to mid April, my elementary school's cross country team would practice. Before every training session the team would gather in the gym to do our stretches and this is where I was to learn a vital lesson.
Usually my friends and I would break into not so quiet "whispering" and tomfoolery after the first few leg stretches while the coach tried to get through a decent warm up. The only time we stopped to actually stretch was to see who could balance for the longest while pulling one leg up behind us and standing on the other.
On this particular day though our coach finally became fed up with our antics. He stopped the warm up with nothing more than silence and a piercing stare at our rowdy group. We froze and a multitude of punishments our coach could inflict came to my mind, each worse than the last.
Suddenly the coach broke the silence. "You think this is a joke boys?" he said, "Well do you wanna know what happens when you don't stretch before a race?"
It wasn't really a question so much as an introduction and our coach proceded to tell us a handfull of squirm-inducing stories about kids who had neglected to stretch and had torn all sorts of muscles and ligements and popped knee caps and such in horrifying ways.
Suffice it to say, no one in that room that day ever forgot to stretch again.
Now although I was scared that day into seeing the importance of stretching I later realized the positive payoff of stretching on my own and although I haven't always been the most vigilant in doing a warm up, I've always run better after completing one.
I have also recognized that stretching isn't just an important tool in helping you run a better race, but also in helping live a more fulfilling life as well.
When you stretch before a race you sometimes reach for a part of your body, like your toes, in an attempt to loosen muscles, and become for flexible so you can use those muscles in a race and decrease your chance of getting a cramp or an injury.
In life you can also stretch, but in a different sense. You can stretch to achieve your goals and dreams.
You may not reach your goals the first time you stretch for them. For example you may not be elected the first time you run for student council or toast your marshmallow to a perfect golden brown the first time you make a s'more, just like you may not be able to touch your toes the first few times you stretch. But if you keep on working and stretching outside of the what you can certainly do to something you want to eventually do then you will finally achieve it, as well as improving yourself and learning lessons and skills along the way.
Just as when you stretch you prepare muscles used in a race, when you stretch for something in life that isn't always easy, like a big promotion or reconciling a broken relationship, you learn other skills and lessons about yourself that can help you in other areas of life. Perserverance, time management and the importance of forgiveness are just a few of these.
Stretching for the hard goals in life may take you outside of your comfort zone to try to achieve objectives that you have never reached before, just like in stretching when you use a muscle that hasn't been used as much or when you can't reach your toes as easily. But in doing this you lift yourself out of the ordinary into the extraordinary and prevent yourself from falling into a rut or routine of laziness or self-pity which can lead to harm or missed opportunities just as in stretching you decrease your chance of getting hurt in a race.
Now injury in running may happen even though you have prepared as much as humanly possible, and life is the same. You may fail, lose or fall down, but getting right back up and out onto the course is also important and stretching is a key part in getting yourself back in the game.
Stretching may be hard work, an arduous exercise that seems unnecesary at times and painful at others, but once you take the time, reach out and grab hold of that vision and plan you'll be ready to jump up and track down your dreams.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
If the Shoe Fits...
I've tried many a shoe on in my time as a runner. From the latest and sleekest New Balances and flashy Nikes to cushy Asics.
I've measured my foot from all different angles, from the length and width to the arch and where the pressure is when I push off.
I've run, jumped, kicked, splashed and muddied dozens of training shoes, from my first pair in grade three to my well worn trainers of the present, in order to see which shoes fit me right.
Now after years of searching I have found that New Balance is my favourite brand, but one of the best running experiences I've ever had were in a pair of beat up, neon yellow, cross-country spikes.
Our cross country team had a bag of spikes ready for runners to use if they wanted them and could find two of the right size shoes. I never ran in the communal spikes, mostly because our top runners would snatch them up before I could. But one day there were a pair of size sevens sitting in the bag and I decided to wear them for a race.
They were tight, scratchy and smelled like a gym sock that had been bathing in bad milk. The grimace-inducing thought of dozens of other sweaty teammates wearing the same shoes popped into my mind a couple times because no one wore socks with them, including myself. They were really an amazing pair of shoes.
For all the initial discomfort and their bad hygiene track record, the shoes gave me the best feeling while running. They fit snuggly, conforming to my foot. They were as light as air and made me feel more free and natural than I ever had. I felt pretty great in those shoes.
They felt great, and I ran a decent race in them. And I only ever wore them on occasion after that. Now you may be thinking, well if they were so amazing than why didn't you wear them every race you oddball? The fact is, while the spikes felt great, in my New Balances I felt as if, no matter what the weather or the course, those New Balances and I could get through it and reach my personal goals. They just felt right and they made me smile every time I laced them up.
Now while all this wrangling over shoes may seem crazy, I think the whole process of picking the right fit can be seen in life as well.
As we grow up there are hundreds of paths we can follow. Some people pick paths that lead to adventure at every turn, who would be happiest venturing into a foreign environment with nothing more than the shirt on their back and a thirst for adventure. Others pick what seems like the more conventional route these days, at least in the Western world, which is to go to university, get a degree and then find a job.
For me the first lifestyle seems like those spikes I ran in those years ago, refreshing and a very worthwhile experience, but not something I would do every day, while the university route fits me, is comfortable, seems to me to be the best path to my goals and dreams and makes me happy, just like those New Balances. For others it would be the other way around.
The path that is best for you may not neccesarily be the path people are telling you to go on or the path most people travel. Too often people will follow a path in life only because they assume it is the only path to success and thus happiness, just as many people believe Nikes are obviously the best shoes to run in because they the most popular and recognizable brand.
But I say try different paths and see which ones are best, just as you should try on different shoes and see which ones most suits your needs and wants and goals. Only then will you be most comfortable and feel like you can get through anything and arrive not only at success, but also, most importantly, happiness.
If you want to become an actor or an artist don't listen to those people who tell you it's just not practical and follow the path that will lead to your dreams. If you want to become a business person then follow the best path for that. If you want to become a clown go to clown school and become the best clown you can be. Any of those paths will probably include risks and hardships and might include formal education or something else, but the key is to be happy in the end by finding the right fit.
So strap on those spikes, tie up those sneakers or do away with shoes altogether and feel the happiness beneath your feet.
I've measured my foot from all different angles, from the length and width to the arch and where the pressure is when I push off.
I've run, jumped, kicked, splashed and muddied dozens of training shoes, from my first pair in grade three to my well worn trainers of the present, in order to see which shoes fit me right.
Now after years of searching I have found that New Balance is my favourite brand, but one of the best running experiences I've ever had were in a pair of beat up, neon yellow, cross-country spikes.
Our cross country team had a bag of spikes ready for runners to use if they wanted them and could find two of the right size shoes. I never ran in the communal spikes, mostly because our top runners would snatch them up before I could. But one day there were a pair of size sevens sitting in the bag and I decided to wear them for a race.
They were tight, scratchy and smelled like a gym sock that had been bathing in bad milk. The grimace-inducing thought of dozens of other sweaty teammates wearing the same shoes popped into my mind a couple times because no one wore socks with them, including myself. They were really an amazing pair of shoes.
For all the initial discomfort and their bad hygiene track record, the shoes gave me the best feeling while running. They fit snuggly, conforming to my foot. They were as light as air and made me feel more free and natural than I ever had. I felt pretty great in those shoes.
They felt great, and I ran a decent race in them. And I only ever wore them on occasion after that. Now you may be thinking, well if they were so amazing than why didn't you wear them every race you oddball? The fact is, while the spikes felt great, in my New Balances I felt as if, no matter what the weather or the course, those New Balances and I could get through it and reach my personal goals. They just felt right and they made me smile every time I laced them up.
Now while all this wrangling over shoes may seem crazy, I think the whole process of picking the right fit can be seen in life as well.
As we grow up there are hundreds of paths we can follow. Some people pick paths that lead to adventure at every turn, who would be happiest venturing into a foreign environment with nothing more than the shirt on their back and a thirst for adventure. Others pick what seems like the more conventional route these days, at least in the Western world, which is to go to university, get a degree and then find a job.
For me the first lifestyle seems like those spikes I ran in those years ago, refreshing and a very worthwhile experience, but not something I would do every day, while the university route fits me, is comfortable, seems to me to be the best path to my goals and dreams and makes me happy, just like those New Balances. For others it would be the other way around.
The path that is best for you may not neccesarily be the path people are telling you to go on or the path most people travel. Too often people will follow a path in life only because they assume it is the only path to success and thus happiness, just as many people believe Nikes are obviously the best shoes to run in because they the most popular and recognizable brand.
But I say try different paths and see which ones are best, just as you should try on different shoes and see which ones most suits your needs and wants and goals. Only then will you be most comfortable and feel like you can get through anything and arrive not only at success, but also, most importantly, happiness.
If you want to become an actor or an artist don't listen to those people who tell you it's just not practical and follow the path that will lead to your dreams. If you want to become a business person then follow the best path for that. If you want to become a clown go to clown school and become the best clown you can be. Any of those paths will probably include risks and hardships and might include formal education or something else, but the key is to be happy in the end by finding the right fit.
So strap on those spikes, tie up those sneakers or do away with shoes altogether and feel the happiness beneath your feet.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Narrow Path
Of all the paths and hills and streets I have ever run on, a section at Boyd Park remains one of the only places I would say is dangerous.
I would find myself faced with this path four times every year in high school, twice a race, when running the annual contests at Boyd. After running up over a short steep hill and crossing a paved road runners would come to three foot wide dirt path, with rocks embedded in it. Tall, thistley growth was waiting to scratch you up on the right and a five foot drop straight to a little river yawned open to the left.
Even on the best of days it was hard to keep your footing on the path and avoid the obstacles on either side of you, but when the rain was falling and 200 runners were trying to squeeze through the path all at once, getting along the path unscathed was something to be proud of.
So when I came to this slippery, slick path in a race in grade 10, right on the heels of another runnner, I was a little apprehensive, but I was confident that the path wouldn't get the best of me. Besides, I was more concerned with passing the runner in front of me.
As I reached the path I went to pass my fellow runner. As I made my move the other runner yelled. "I think there's only room for one," he said. I was shocked for a millisecond, and then spurred on by the guy's assurance that the path was too narrow for me to pass him. I did overtake him on the path, without falling or being torn to shreds of the thistles, and finished the race ahead of him.
That race was a lot like some monumental moments in people's lives. When reaching for a big goal or dream the path there is going to seem narrow, similar to that path at Boyd. And just like that actual path, the road to your dreams is going to have obstacles and there's always going to be a chance that you may slip, fall and hurt yourself on the way through, especially because others may be using that same path.
Getting to the end of that path may be hard, scary and dangerous and full of competitors, but once you emerge at the end, it will all be worth it, something to be truly proud of, as long as you don't hurt any of your fellow travelers along the way.
But there probably will be people who tell you that the path is too narrow, that you can't get through or that there isn't room for you on the path at all. There will be those that tell you the path is too dangerous to run on.
But don't listen to them. Don't let those people get you down, or tell you what you can and can't do, because with focus, determination and action you can do anything. Let your own dreams and your friends and family push you forward along that narrow path.
One narrow path may lead to another, but in the end the fact that you even started through on that path in the first place will be worth while, the journey and the scratches and bruises being stories and lessons. And when the narrow path ends and the finish line nears, you will not be able to hold that smile back.
I would find myself faced with this path four times every year in high school, twice a race, when running the annual contests at Boyd. After running up over a short steep hill and crossing a paved road runners would come to three foot wide dirt path, with rocks embedded in it. Tall, thistley growth was waiting to scratch you up on the right and a five foot drop straight to a little river yawned open to the left.
Even on the best of days it was hard to keep your footing on the path and avoid the obstacles on either side of you, but when the rain was falling and 200 runners were trying to squeeze through the path all at once, getting along the path unscathed was something to be proud of.
So when I came to this slippery, slick path in a race in grade 10, right on the heels of another runnner, I was a little apprehensive, but I was confident that the path wouldn't get the best of me. Besides, I was more concerned with passing the runner in front of me.
As I reached the path I went to pass my fellow runner. As I made my move the other runner yelled. "I think there's only room for one," he said. I was shocked for a millisecond, and then spurred on by the guy's assurance that the path was too narrow for me to pass him. I did overtake him on the path, without falling or being torn to shreds of the thistles, and finished the race ahead of him.
That race was a lot like some monumental moments in people's lives. When reaching for a big goal or dream the path there is going to seem narrow, similar to that path at Boyd. And just like that actual path, the road to your dreams is going to have obstacles and there's always going to be a chance that you may slip, fall and hurt yourself on the way through, especially because others may be using that same path.
Getting to the end of that path may be hard, scary and dangerous and full of competitors, but once you emerge at the end, it will all be worth it, something to be truly proud of, as long as you don't hurt any of your fellow travelers along the way.
But there probably will be people who tell you that the path is too narrow, that you can't get through or that there isn't room for you on the path at all. There will be those that tell you the path is too dangerous to run on.
But don't listen to them. Don't let those people get you down, or tell you what you can and can't do, because with focus, determination and action you can do anything. Let your own dreams and your friends and family push you forward along that narrow path.
One narrow path may lead to another, but in the end the fact that you even started through on that path in the first place will be worth while, the journey and the scratches and bruises being stories and lessons. And when the narrow path ends and the finish line nears, you will not be able to hold that smile back.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Always Stop to Watch the Deer
There are not many places I have run that are more beautiful than along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. With its scenic views and runner friendly paths it makes you feel free even in one of Canada's biggest cities. Add in the fact that it is a world heritage site and the only cooler feeling you can get is to skate on the Canal itself. If you can get over the horrible smell of months old sewage and what I can only hope is algae, then the Canal can be an interesting and refreshing place to run.
One spring day, a year and a half ago, my girlfriend, Kelsey, and I decided to throw off the shackels of a long and arduous Ottawa winter by running along the Canal and enjoying one of the nicest days of the year. We set a goal and started out at a quick pace.
About ten minutes into our run I spotted movement on the other side of the Canal and suddenly a baby deer wondered out of a group of trees. I pointed it out to Kelsey and we stopped to watch it. We stood there panting and sweating and admiring the deer who was staring (I like to think admiring as well) at us. For me, somewhat of a city boy all my life, seeing a deer so close in the middle of a city was pretty amazing and just one more thing that added to the magic of the Canal.
Now I've run many routes in many cities in my life, but this run sticks out because I stopped to watch the deer and because Kelsey was there to watch it with me.
I think life works a lot like that one run as well.
In this day and age, probably more than any other (although I can't vouch for this cause I've only been alive for 20 years) ambition and action are prized over almost everything. People work more than ever before. From the day we are born we are bombarded with strategies and programs that are supposed to make us smarter or stronger. The rush for the top starts early and never seems to stop (although when I beat the last level of Space Invaders at the age of nine I thought I had finally arrived on top).
Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be the best there is at anything (except a Senators fan) and doing anything you can (legally) to achieve it. However, i think there is a problem with letting this ambition blind you from seeing other valuable things in life.
If on that run that day on the Canal I had not stopped to watch the deer because doing so would have disrupted my training schedule then I probably would have not very much of a memory of that run. If Kelsey wasn't there with me as well then I would never have remembered it at all. The run would have been lost amongst all my other training runs.
Similarly, in life we can chose focus soley on getting that new promotion at work or getting straight A's in school or becoming the hot dog eating champion of the world and disregard some of the smaller, but beautiful things life has to offer. Achieving your goals takes sacrifice, but once you reach the top it also doesn't feel very good if you can't remember the jouney or didn't participate in any fun school events or didn't really savour the taste of a good hot dog.
So on your way to becoming the greatest (which you will be) stop and look a round once in a while and discover the little, but immensely beautiful, things around you, like the rising sun, the singing bird or the calm lake. And also look at who you're sharing these things with, your friends, family, significant other or colleagues, because they make it a million times more special. And if you ever cross paths with a deer, always stop to watch it.
One spring day, a year and a half ago, my girlfriend, Kelsey, and I decided to throw off the shackels of a long and arduous Ottawa winter by running along the Canal and enjoying one of the nicest days of the year. We set a goal and started out at a quick pace.
About ten minutes into our run I spotted movement on the other side of the Canal and suddenly a baby deer wondered out of a group of trees. I pointed it out to Kelsey and we stopped to watch it. We stood there panting and sweating and admiring the deer who was staring (I like to think admiring as well) at us. For me, somewhat of a city boy all my life, seeing a deer so close in the middle of a city was pretty amazing and just one more thing that added to the magic of the Canal.
Now I've run many routes in many cities in my life, but this run sticks out because I stopped to watch the deer and because Kelsey was there to watch it with me.
I think life works a lot like that one run as well.
In this day and age, probably more than any other (although I can't vouch for this cause I've only been alive for 20 years) ambition and action are prized over almost everything. People work more than ever before. From the day we are born we are bombarded with strategies and programs that are supposed to make us smarter or stronger. The rush for the top starts early and never seems to stop (although when I beat the last level of Space Invaders at the age of nine I thought I had finally arrived on top).
Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be the best there is at anything (except a Senators fan) and doing anything you can (legally) to achieve it. However, i think there is a problem with letting this ambition blind you from seeing other valuable things in life.
If on that run that day on the Canal I had not stopped to watch the deer because doing so would have disrupted my training schedule then I probably would have not very much of a memory of that run. If Kelsey wasn't there with me as well then I would never have remembered it at all. The run would have been lost amongst all my other training runs.
Similarly, in life we can chose focus soley on getting that new promotion at work or getting straight A's in school or becoming the hot dog eating champion of the world and disregard some of the smaller, but beautiful things life has to offer. Achieving your goals takes sacrifice, but once you reach the top it also doesn't feel very good if you can't remember the jouney or didn't participate in any fun school events or didn't really savour the taste of a good hot dog.
So on your way to becoming the greatest (which you will be) stop and look a round once in a while and discover the little, but immensely beautiful, things around you, like the rising sun, the singing bird or the calm lake. And also look at who you're sharing these things with, your friends, family, significant other or colleagues, because they make it a million times more special. And if you ever cross paths with a deer, always stop to watch it.
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