I Love Running

My wife has been kind of obsessed with this website called Lists of Note. It's a site of lists, mostly lists from famous people. My wife will occasionally send me the good ones. My two favorite lists so far are Sid Vicious' list of What Makes Nancy So Great (it's sweet, romantic, and crude so don't click unless you're into that), and F. Scott Fitzgerald's list of things to worry about, not worry about, and things to think about.

In honor of Valentine's Day, and in a desire to embrace my cheesiness, I decided to make a list of why I love running. Here's my list:

  • I love the peaks and appreciate the valleys because that is where the growth happens. Flat roads are boring.
  • Bad weather makes a muddy playground.
  • That dead feeling at the top of a long climb, and the satisfaction of looking back at where you came from, where your body brought you.
  • I love that I have never regretted a day on the trails.
  • Everything about finish lines.
  • That nervous energy at the start of a trail race, the jokes and the conversations.
  • Running downhill with abandon.
  • Pushing around a corner, leaning into it and feeling the side of your shoe dig into the dirt.
  • Jumping over rocks, fallen trees, and sticks that may or may not be snakes.
  • Meeting new people and knowing that we already share a strong bond.

Don't like my list, or want to add to it? I'd love to read why you love running in the comments below. Happy Valentine's Day.

Here's some trail goodness:

With my wife, and looking like I just picked up a hitchhiker
My daughter catching air on a local trail
Noble Canyon 50K
SD100 in the Laguna Mountains
Grand Canyon
Mt. Laguna

And on a completely unrelated, non-running note, here is another list. I wrote this one for my son, and I don't know what to call it. How to be a man sounds too pretentious, so I'm just calling it advice from your dad:

If you decide to jump into something, don't step lightly. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and fly.

Don't be cautious with your heart. Don't protect it, but if someone gives you theirs, treat it like it's the greatest treasure in the world. It is.

It's usually better to walk away, but if you have to fight, keep your eyes open, your breath slow, and punch straight.

Don't be afraid of being alone or the silence, because this is when you learn about you.

Look everyone in the eyes.

Be free with compliments.

Be kind to everyone, especially to those from whom you have nothing to gain.

Ask for directions.

Don't talk a lot and when you do, use simple words.

Read a lot. Read books with pages. Not the kind on a screen.

Get attached to people even though they will leave.

Be content to hold hands and kiss cheeks. This is the sweetest and purest love.

Use manners more than you think necessary. Open doors, be the last person through, and give your seat up. Say excuse me, please, and thank you.

Ask for advice and opinions, but after all that, trust your gut. It's right.

20 comments:

  1. I love being brushed by leafy greens on a thick winding trail!

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  2. Why I love running: unlimited access to all kinds of cool places, people, and stories. Plus it's a great excuse to buy fluorescent shoes.

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  3. Another great blog! Your list to your son made me think of a post I read on another site (http://artofmanliness.com/2011/02/02/lessons-in-manliness-from-atticus-finch/). It's long, but I think it's worthwhile. In my opinion, that site is pretty much money.

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    1. That's a great site. I feel my testosterone levels have risen just from visiting it.

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  4. Awesome Dax. Your advice to your son is a gem. And I love the beard.

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    1. thanks Lucho. The beard will be strong come June for the 100 (if my wife and kids let me keep it that long).

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  5. I love this post. thank you for sharing your thoughts!

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  6. Um, this post is basically awesome. I added it to my bookmarks so I can come back again. Two thumbs up for the trail goodness also! I'm going to check out listsofnote.

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  7. What I like a lot about running lately is being the first to run a snowy trail. It feels even better than skiing first track!

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  8. Tripping, falling, bleeding, getting up, and doing it all over again.

    Waking up 10 miles into your run as the sun rises <-- I don't do this enough

    Getting passed by Iso at the end of every race

    Looking someone in the eye, someone you don't know and have never met before, not saying a word, and knowing exactly how they feel.

    Seeing a glimpse of how beautiful this world is, all of the amazing places that don't have paved roads, the "hidden" gems which are only hidden because so many people don't make the effort.

    Reaching a point where basic food and water taste _that_ good.

    Reaching past your limits, breaking down, falling apart, and still having a long way to go to get home and all of the thoughts that come up.

    Laughing about it all afterwards

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    1. Dave, I love these. Especially food and water one.

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  9. I loved both of your lists! =o]
    -Sarah

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  10. Great lists. To your son's I would add that, if you're going to fight, try to end it quickly. Drawing it out helps no one.

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  11. The sound of rain on the trail out in the woods.
    And I love the manners portion of the list for your son. The world needs more of that.
    Finally, don't fear the beard. Rock it.

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  12. Keep them coming Dax!
    Have a great weekend!

    Babu

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  13. I'm in love with that lists site! and I LOVE your list to your son! LOVE! It reminds me of some I did for my daughter when she turned 13. And guess what... you are just the type of Dad I'd want raising a boy that I'd want my daughter to marry. That's what I worry about a lot. Not enough gentlemen in this world anymore. Glad I grabbed one of the last. ;) Keep up the good work, Dax! ;)

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