The Running "Tour"

The route we ran in Blairsville, Ga. Fall 2012

The runs we’ve had up here in the mountains have reminded me of something I tend to forget. Why do runners run? Many start off in order to lose weight, or to get in better shape, but if you ask a truly seasoned runner why they continue to run, I guarantee you will not get a “lose weight” response.

While in the mountains of Georgia and North Carolina this weekend, I remembered why I run. I remembered that the run is not about speed or how far you can go without walking. These things are trivial to a true runner. Running for me is about meditation and reflection. It’s about taking time to “smell the roses” of life.  As Nick and I say, before we head out for a grueling 18 miler- “It’s not about the time. Let’s just take a "tour”. Yes “A Tour”. That is how I like to think of our long runs. It’s about experiencing your surroundings while you run. It’s about taking in that amazing sunrise and seeing the leaves change color. It’s about watching deer run next to you in the forest or that small rabbit wriggle its nose as you fly by.  If you need to stop in order to appreciate it, then stop.  Once you get to this point of your running life, then you know you’ve become a true seasoned runner. Life has enough time constraints and demands us to constantly multi task. Take your runs as your time out. Leave the iPod and Garmin at home. Take a Tour.

We stopped quite a few timeson this 5ish mile run.

Before we started our run this morning, we were determined to tackle this insane 1/4 mile straight up hill. We tried yesterday, but failed. Today, we tried again and as you may be able to tell from these pictures, WE MADE IT! It can now be checked off our bucket list. And we of course celebrated with a 5 mile run afterwards and some beer!