"Where are the dreams that we once had?
This is the time to bring them back.
What were the promises caught on the tips of our tongues?
Do we forget or forgive?
There's a whole other life waiting to be lived when...
One day we're brave enough
To talk with Conviction of the Heart." - Conviction of the Heart by Kenny Loggins
Today was training - 3 hours and about 19 miles worth, to be precise. It was hot (91) and it was humid (85%) and it was perfect, mainly because I ran with conviction. I've been doing some thinking lately and with everything going on in the world, it seems we have lost a little bit of our way. Of course, this is a running blog and I have a general rule on social media which is to stay far far away from charged topics, particularly those having to do with politics, religion and OJ Simpson (don't ask) But it doesn't mean they're not somewhere in my head, rolling around, especially on Memorial Day weekend, when we look back at those who risked everything. and speaking of risks...
There was another reason why today was poignant for me. It was due to Craig Williams. He died last night. I didn't know him personally but I know his beautiful and thoughtful wife, Susan Williams, as a volunteer for the Oil Creek 100 miler in Titusville PA (ed note: she's not a runner, not even close but she supports the community she's known her whole life). Anyway, back to Craig - he was involved in a terrible biking accident about two weeks ago. He held on for a while but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. It got me thinking about the risks we take in life and how to balance those, especially those that are wrought with physical danger. Ultrarunning carries a great deal of risk but so does owning a motorcycle, getting on a plane, parkouring through the city, riding on a bicycle... do we remove that potential for danger by excusing ourselves from participating? Or do we embrace it because we have only one life? I prefer to subscribe to the idea that we need to take risks, if for nothing else, to really experience life. Not just the same life everyone else experiences but the REAL LIFE experiences, different as they are for each person. I know that if I didn't do this (this = ultrarunning), I'd miss SO MUCH. Like Antelope Canyon, a flashback to a race in March 2015:
This is the time to bring them back.
What were the promises caught on the tips of our tongues?
Do we forget or forgive?
There's a whole other life waiting to be lived when...
One day we're brave enough
To talk with Conviction of the Heart." - Conviction of the Heart by Kenny Loggins
Today was training - 3 hours and about 19 miles worth, to be precise. It was hot (91) and it was humid (85%) and it was perfect, mainly because I ran with conviction. I've been doing some thinking lately and with everything going on in the world, it seems we have lost a little bit of our way. Of course, this is a running blog and I have a general rule on social media which is to stay far far away from charged topics, particularly those having to do with politics, religion and OJ Simpson (don't ask) But it doesn't mean they're not somewhere in my head, rolling around, especially on Memorial Day weekend, when we look back at those who risked everything. and speaking of risks...
There was another reason why today was poignant for me. It was due to Craig Williams. He died last night. I didn't know him personally but I know his beautiful and thoughtful wife, Susan Williams, as a volunteer for the Oil Creek 100 miler in Titusville PA (ed note: she's not a runner, not even close but she supports the community she's known her whole life). Anyway, back to Craig - he was involved in a terrible biking accident about two weeks ago. He held on for a while but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. It got me thinking about the risks we take in life and how to balance those, especially those that are wrought with physical danger. Ultrarunning carries a great deal of risk but so does owning a motorcycle, getting on a plane, parkouring through the city, riding on a bicycle... do we remove that potential for danger by excusing ourselves from participating? Or do we embrace it because we have only one life? I prefer to subscribe to the idea that we need to take risks, if for nothing else, to really experience life. Not just the same life everyone else experiences but the REAL LIFE experiences, different as they are for each person. I know that if I didn't do this (this = ultrarunning), I'd miss SO MUCH. Like Antelope Canyon, a flashback to a race in March 2015:
I mean, HOLY HELL, look at that... so as I ran today, as I always do, I attempted to take in the small things, the reasons I run, the little 'nuances of nature' as I call them, that we miss. Granted, it was no Antelope Canyon but I wouldn't have seen this gaggle of baby ducks:
Nor this newfound trail cut-through:
If I hadn't gone for a long run today. So really, where's YOUR conviction of the heart? I know where mine is. I know where Craig Williams was - and each of us has to decide when, where and how to embrace ours. This is it. Life is fleeting.
"One with the earth, with the sky
One with everything in life
I believe we'll survive
If we only try..."
"One with the earth, with the sky
One with everything in life
I believe we'll survive
If we only try..."
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