Thanks Pete (from Beijing) for sharing this....
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Laute Peter-FPL002
Date: Fri, May 22, 2009 at 7:50 AM
Subject: After the Last PR
I ran my last personal record on April 2, 1989 at the age of 28. From 1982 to 89 I raced various distances, from 5K to the marathon, and in that period I ran all my best times. Back then running was simple. I ran to race fast, and that was pretty much it.
Since then, I haven't come close to beating any of those PRs. So why am I still running 20 years later?
I could give you simple reasons. Running boosts my confidence. It keeps me fit. I enjoy being around other runners. But the real reason is far more complicated than any of those things.
Each time I run the unwelcome noise of life quiets. The thick pressure of work subsides. In the simple rhythm of running, I come back to the core of myself.
It's there, at my center, where I remember why I'm here. It's there that I remember what I love. There reside the principles and values that guide me. Life pulls me away from all that. Running moves me back.
I can begin a run faced with a complicated dilemma, and finish it with clear vision. Every conflict that's thrown my way is resolved when I remember what's important, and running never fails to remind me what that is.
There's more. Running challenges me. A thousand times, it's confronted me with obstacles I didn't think I'd overcome. It's brought fatigue and weariness, and yet even in the throes of exhaustion, it leaves a small burning ember of strength, always just enough. After so many trials, I've learned that hope is always present if you look hard enough, and hope is a precious thing.
I still remember all my fastest races. I remember the toil in the training, the anticipation of the starting lines and the strategy of competition. I can still feel the exhilaration of those finish lines, knowing I'd surpassed my best yet again and wondering where the next plateau would lead me.
When I was running those races my single motivation was competition, reaching ever higher levels of success. I'm thankful that I had running to feed my competitive spirit, but even more thankful that my competitive spirit led me to running.
I didn't realize it at the time, but searching for my potential as a runner taught me how to find my potential as a person. In the process of trying to do my best, I learned how to be my best. Running formed my core values, and my core values shape my life.
I'm much slower than I used to be, but that's okay. It's not as much about speed anymore; there's something more important to me than that. That something is living virtuously.
When it comes to that, I know I still have some unused potential, but each run seems to move me a little bit closer. And that's why I'm still running, so long after my last PR.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Laute Peter-FPL002
Date: Fri, May 22, 2009 at 7:50 AM
Subject: After the Last PR
After the Last PR
One runner's motivation for keeping the faith
By Dave Griffin
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine
I ran my last personal record on April 2, 1989 at the age of 28. From 1982 to 89 I raced various distances, from 5K to the marathon, and in that period I ran all my best times. Back then running was simple. I ran to race fast, and that was pretty much it. Since then, I haven't come close to beating any of those PRs. So why am I still running 20 years later?
I could give you simple reasons. Running boosts my confidence. It keeps me fit. I enjoy being around other runners. But the real reason is far more complicated than any of those things.
Each time I run the unwelcome noise of life quiets. The thick pressure of work subsides. In the simple rhythm of running, I come back to the core of myself.
It's there, at my center, where I remember why I'm here. It's there that I remember what I love. There reside the principles and values that guide me. Life pulls me away from all that. Running moves me back.
I can begin a run faced with a complicated dilemma, and finish it with clear vision. Every conflict that's thrown my way is resolved when I remember what's important, and running never fails to remind me what that is.
There's more. Running challenges me. A thousand times, it's confronted me with obstacles I didn't think I'd overcome. It's brought fatigue and weariness, and yet even in the throes of exhaustion, it leaves a small burning ember of strength, always just enough. After so many trials, I've learned that hope is always present if you look hard enough, and hope is a precious thing.
I still remember all my fastest races. I remember the toil in the training, the anticipation of the starting lines and the strategy of competition. I can still feel the exhilaration of those finish lines, knowing I'd surpassed my best yet again and wondering where the next plateau would lead me.
When I was running those races my single motivation was competition, reaching ever higher levels of success. I'm thankful that I had running to feed my competitive spirit, but even more thankful that my competitive spirit led me to running.
I didn't realize it at the time, but searching for my potential as a runner taught me how to find my potential as a person. In the process of trying to do my best, I learned how to be my best. Running formed my core values, and my core values shape my life.
I'm much slower than I used to be, but that's okay. It's not as much about speed anymore; there's something more important to me than that. That something is living virtuously.
When it comes to that, I know I still have some unused potential, but each run seems to move me a little bit closer. And that's why I'm still running, so long after my last PR.
Dave Griffin is running columnist for the Carroll County Times. He lives in Westminster, Md.
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