Running, attention and friends
I'm at home again in Portland for the weekend! Some guy I kind know just barely (and let's be honest, who I just barely even like) asked me to be in his wedding*, so I'm here for that.
Last time I was here, I tried to go running at least once with all my old neighborhood friends, because well, they've been into running for years and I'm only now just getting really into it, so I was trying to participate in their activities with them. And I'm doing it again this time, trying to run with as many of them as I can.
But these runs are doubly fun because of something I mentioned in my last post as a sidenote about walking:
Walking places is something I rarely do anymore. Which is too bad, because it feels good, and gives you a chance to interact with people without distractions, which we rarely seem to get these days.
Running is the same way. When you go running with someone, as long as you aren't running too hard, it is a rare chance to get just them. Not them and their phone or them and the TV, or them and the things you are busy doing. Just them. You have no choice but to talk to each other!
When it comes to my neighborhood friends, who I refer to as "the three houses", we've known each other for a long time (they are literally my oldest friends), so we are all really close. But because we are all mostly different ages we were never really in the same place at the same time. You know in terms, of where we were in life. Some of us were heading off to college while others were just starting high school and others yet still were in elementary school. So this means that while hanging out is easy and fun, actually sharing things about our lives and talking is a little less common.
So, these runs are particularly fun because I feel like I am making friends all over again with these people I already absolutely adore.
When I was younger (basically before I started running with my future wifey in 2005 and 2006), I thought running was two things: A) a means to being fit and B) a really boring hobby.
But what I'm slowly beginning to see is that:
A) running is not a means to being fit, but being able to run is a reason to try and get fit in the first place. Basically, running isn't a tool, it is an end goal.
B) running is really fun. Not in the sense that board games are fun, I'm not laughing and giggling the whole time I'm running. But in a when I'm done with my run, I want to go out and do it again sort of way. And running is also a really great way to bond with the people in my life, be that sharing an activity my future wifey, making friends with my brother-in-law, or getting to know old friends even better.
Have you ever noticed that members of high school cross country teams are always really good friends? I don't think it is a coincidence.
Sorry, I keep going on and on about running so much these days, but what can I say? I'm drinking the Kool-Aid! Big time!
* SIKE! He (well, and she, too) are awesome! I'm totally pumped about it!
10 September 2011 04:45pm UTC • 160 views • 5 comments
Tagged with running, friends, attention
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5 comments
Peon Peetie
11 September 2011 03:17am UTC
oooh boy, i'll tell you! i can't stand running, but i love biking for the same reasons you love running. i went for my first ride in ages (houston finally drops below 95 degrees at night!), and it was awesome. a bit late, which got a bit dark, which made me head home short, but it was great.
Seamonster Mom
13 September 2011 04:24pm UTC
SIKE? I can't figure it out. Silly innocent kind of expression? So idiotic kan't explain? So is Keri excellent? ???
Swordsman Satchel
14 September 2011 04:37am UTC
It's not an acronym Martha, it's slang for NOT or EVERYTHING I JUST SAID WAS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL LIE! It's a way of showing that a statement is sarcasm or a lie.
Ex: I love it when I settle down with cookies and milk to watch TV and notice that the remote is across the room... SIKE! I hate that!
I hope this helps Martha!
Dread Pirate Benjamin
14 September 2011 04:47pm UTC
That was a pretty crappy description of what that means, Satchel. SIKE!
Also, Martha, I wasn't talking about Keri, I was attempting to say that Ben (and Alysia) are awesome and that I was excited about their wedding!
Seamonster Mom
14 September 2011 06:53pm UTC
Yes, Benjamin, I get that. I was trying to use the "K" in the expression SIKE with cute little potential acronyms. "K" surely had to be something about Keri.
Thanks, Satchel! and Benjamin!