Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Why I Run (Runner Photo Challenge Week 2)

Week 2 of Maggie's Runner Photo Challenge!

This week's challenge:

Why do you run? What is the main reason? We all have multiple reasons why we run (physical and mental health, friends, competition, etc), but what is The One main reason you keep lacing up and getting out there? This is a little open-ended, so have fun with it! Be creative.

This one took some thought!  It was hard, really hard, to narrow my motivations for running down to a single reason... but they do say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Therefore, I present thee with thou:


Deeply philosophical, no?

Here's the symbolism behind this picture (flashback to junior high English class!):

Cookie
I love to eat, and my combination sweet tooth and salt tooth are forces to be reckoned with.  Running allows me to feel less guilty about downing chocolate desserts or other good eats that don't show up on the food pyramid.

Monster
Running calms me down and centers me, and allows me to think more clearly.  When I haven't gone running for awhile, the odds increase for me to teeter into belligerence if provoked.  In short, I am more likely to exhibit monster-like behavior when I am run-deprived.

Monster's Blue Color
Running helps me to burn off any stresses, frustrations, or other negative emotions that might be clouding my mind at any given moment.  A good run always helps ward off any "blue" feelings.

Sesame Street Theme
When I was a child, I was carefree and my goal was to play and have fun, no worries about anything including appearance.  (Gosh, do I miss those days!)  My runs are short times in which, like a child, I can just enjoy myself, let loose, and listen to whatever random music I want to.  No concerns about being sweaty and unkempt, and no worries (albeit temporarily) about grown-up stuff like deadlines, performance reviews, or whatever broke that day.

IN SUMMARY (and so I don't get accused of cheating in this challenge)...
I run because it makes me feel good.  Or at least it makes me feel better, even if just for a little while.

Extra Credit!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million!  There is really only one video that does justice here.


10 comments:

  1. Ha! And I WAS going to accuse you of cheating since you picked multiple options! :P

    I liked the picture you choose and the reasons behind it :)

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    1. LOL, thank you! =) I can't wait to see what picture you choose for this challenge, too! It was so awesome to see the round-up from last week - and by the way, I loved the picture of Data wearing your NYC Marathon medal!

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  2. Replies
    1. Thanks, Maggie! Looking forward to seeing what others come up with this week, and thanks again for putting this together!

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  3. Oh my god. This is the most amazing post ever!

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    1. Thank you so much! I am very flattered!!!! Can't wait to see what picture you choose for this challenge, too!!!

      (By the way - did you see that the weather is not looking so good for the CARA Lakefront 10 this Saturday? Sigh. =( )

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  4. The English teacher in me loves the symbolism!*

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    1. Thanks so much, Amy!!! YAY for symbolism! Too bad we couldn't all utilize Sesame Street pictures for our English class projects when we were growing up, eh? It would have made homework a lot more fun!!! =D

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  5. Replies
    1. Cookie Monster is the bestest, indeed. So glad you enjoyed it!!!!!!

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