Why lawyers run

Not very long ago, I came across this article on why lawyers run, the benefits of that specific form of exercise.  A lot of the content spoke to the mental benefits of running, and I couldn't agree more.  It's taken me forever to finally admit that I am, in fact, a runner.  For the longest time, I always told people that the only time I ran was when I was running away or to something.  Having asthma, I always thought running was impossible, and I just hated it because I always had to concentrate so hard on the breathing pattern, keeping the mental focus and not psyching myself out.  However, T, being the avid runner he is, has changed that mindset for me. 


So I'm a runner.  I'm not a fast runner.  I'm not the world's best runner, but I'm a runner.  And like many of the lawyers in this article, I find running to be my release. 


I try to run when I can outside, but most of the time it's in our basement.  We don't have a TV down there, so I normally listen to what I call my "workout mix" and stare straight ahead at a poster I bought T a couple years ago of Steve Prefontaine with the quote:  "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."  I focus on it when I'm running, especially on those days where I'm like "eh, I could just stop right now" or "this kind of sucks."  I keep going, and I focus on that poster and the music playing, blocking out everything in my head. 


This isn't an easy task, by any means, because I'm a thinker.  My mind wanders from one worry to the next.  But the music I usually pick on my iPod workout mix tends to be pretty upbeat, something I can really run to.  My most recent obsession has been David Guetta's "Titanium" and of course, Macklemore's "Thrift Shop." 


Running gives me that time where I'm doing absolutely nothing, no multi-tasking, just running.  No one is bothering me, no work needs to be done, I'm just running.  I can tell when I don't get to run for a few days because I'm much more tired and tense at work, but on those days where I do get a jog in first thing in the morning, I can almost feel that release. 


With all of the stress going on right now - health, job stuff, Mary Kay...I need that release more than ever.  So I focus, on that saying, on the wall ahead of me and on the lyrics of the music playing. 


This particular song is hands down my favorite.  For those days when I have court or need to do a particularly hard work task, or days when I'm facing a scary doctor's appointment or just had an argument with someone or a rough Aubrey/toddler day, I repeat the lyrics in my head. 


"Shoot me down, but I won't fall.  I am titanium." 


And so I run.