Say Yes

So, we're here...in this beautiful place...to run the longest race either of us has ever run - Alex and I. It's the Huntington Beach Half-Marathon - 13.1 miles! It's also the first time he's seen the Pacific Ocean. It's the first time we've eaten fish tacos (with blackened Mahi Mahi - YUM!). This is what running does for me - it keeps me young. It makes me say "yes" to things I wouldn't have even tried before. How's that for a side benefit? 

It's a great feeling to have these new experiences and to know that I will keep having them for the rest of my life. There's no going back to the closed, safe person I was in the past. Closed and safe isn't much fun. The richness of opportunity and experience was missing. The "eyes wide-open" joy and exhilaration of doing things like watching my son complete his first half-marathon (and doing it WITH him) was missing. Thanks so much Shawn and Heather for asking us here!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are more benefits to running than just the dramatic physical changes. It changes everything. I wrote a piece called "The Way Out is Through" a few days ago. The way out is through running for me. The way out of everything that would hold me down - fat, building walls in relationships, becoming stagnant. Everything.

Tomorrow, when I'm desperate to stop and every muscle fiber is demanding that I stop, I will think of this new lease on life, this new perspective...and keep on going. I won't regret it. In fact, I will want to plan the next adventure. I will want to keep a goal in the distance. 

This change in your own life may have nothing to do with running. Know that it's worth it to find out what that thing is...that thing that makes you keep saying "yes." You have this one life. It is your responsibility and your priviledge to live it fully. To keep saying "yes!" 

Huntington Beach Half-Marathon 2013