I could not decide what to title this post. It could have been one of a million
things. The Little Things also came
to mind but I have given myself 10 minutes to spew some thoughts onto a page so
there is little time to waste worrying about the title. This post was inspired
by today’s workout. The workout
itself is meaningless but for informational purposes it was a 50 mile bike
followed by a 13.1 mile run off of the bike. It was the things I noticed during the workout which were of
importance. They were
reinforcements to why I love endurance sports and it was a personal reminder of
all the things I try to teach.
My bike ride came first and I am not usually one to look
around and take notice of my surroundings while working out but today
everything seemed to be going in slow motion. It was a HR1 workout, which I hit minus some steeper
climbs. I let myself stay in zone
1 without any regard for the pace……….truth be told I removed the pace
completely from my watch to make sure I just chilled out. What I noticed were a ton of people out
walking and running and biking.
There were young kids.
There were old people like me (tough to admit this!) and there were
folks probably greater than 80 out making it happen. Some were fast.
Some were slow. Some were barely
moving but that is the beauty of what we do. Running and biking means something to everyone with complete
disregard for pace. Endurance
sports shows no bias. Everyone can
get out there and set a personal record.
Everyone can push farther today than they did yesterday. Everyone can push through their
struggles and injuries and doubts and get in the miles. It is a beautiful thing.
Now to the run. I am a sappy dude. If you have followed any
of my writings you are crystal clear on this fact. Today was an emotional run for me. It was amazing.
I have been dealing with foot pain. It has put some doubts in my head
about how long I can continue to run long. Today off the bike I had a 12 mile run. I was sore tied to a 23 mile run
yesterday and tied to the bike ride and, of course, this nagging foot
pain. The run was a zone 1 workout
like the bike, which was a good thing as it was starting to get fairly
warm. I was not sure where I was
going to head today and, for whatever reason, it took all I had to take that
first step. I began running through the neighborhood near my house. I can run switchbacks through this one
section that lands me at 6 miles.
I did this as part of yesterdays run and I actually do it often when I
do not feel like dealing with traffic. Out and back would get me to my 12 miles
but I figured I would mix it up when I got to the 6 mile mark. Little did I know one special needs
adult would change my plan. The
picture below will show the switchbacks I ran.
Running straight through the middle of these switchbacks is
another road……it would be the one mile shortcut to my turnaround (i.e. I am
never more than a mile from my house with this 12 mile run). While I run a mile (basically an out
and back), someone could just walk one block to get to the same place. Anyway, early in the run, I noticed
this guy standing on the corner of the block down this middle road. He would rock back and forth a little
bit tied to whatever condition he is dealing with. I would keep going to the
end of the switchback, make my turn down the next road and there he would be
waiting at the corner. He looked
like he was trying to act as if it was a coincidence every time but I decided
to go a different direction. Every
time I got to him, I would wave and say ‘hey buddy’. He would just give a shy smile and we would part ways for
another mile. I kept thinking this
would stop soon and I was not sure how far he would get from his house…..was
his comfort zone 2 blocks or 10 blocks.
I also had no idea how he knew what I was doing other than I run here
all the time and have done so for years.
Maybe he noticed. Anyway, I
was tired. My feet were sore but
as long as this guy was going to make the effort to get to the next block, I
was going to make the effort to run that next mile. I hit the half way point and made my turn for home. I was wondering if he would know to turn
and go the other direction but I should not have had a doubt……..one mile later
he was there…….’Hey buddy’. I felt
like a had a fan and I was not going to let this one down. Amazingly I stayed in HR1 through mile
11. It was then that I decided to
pick it up a bit and extend my workout to hit 13.1 miles. I saw him with about 2 miles to go and
I told him…..”almost home”. At
mile 12 I told him ‘Last One. Thanks buddy. You saved me today’ to which he
gave a huge smile. He also finally said something but I am not sure what it was. 13.1 miles off the bike in 1:51. More importantly, I think I had a
positive impact on someone’s day and life and I hope he knows he touched
mine. It was a simple moment but
it spoke volumes. I always tell people
to ‘smile big’ when out pounding the pavement. Obviously in the middle of a tough workout that is difficult
but the point is that folks are watching you. There are folks sitting on the couch that want to get up and
make a change. There are people overweight
that want to know there is a better way.
There are kids that wish they could be out running but instead have to
live through those of us that can.
Smile big because when you are out on the streets you are making a
difference and have the ability to impact lives. It doesn’t matter if you are fast or slow, tall or short,
skinny or overweight…….people are watching.
“Remember there's no such thing as a small act of
kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” Scott Adams
My 10 minutes are up. This was not as coherent as I would have liked but hopefully
a little of my point snuck it’s way into the post. Thanks for reading. Now get out there and make a difference.
