Running Toward Myself

Why Ask Why?

For many of us, training (running, cycling, swimming, working out, etc) is a part of our routine, something we simply pencil in on our calendar, adjust our schedule around, and find the time for irregardless of what else might be vying for that empty spot. And, truth be told, that is pretty darn awesome. You and Me? We are the 1% (to use a completely overused Occupy Wallstreet-ism). The simple and sad truth is that most people (yep, that other pesky 99%) don't even get that far in their daily lives as evidenced by the ever-increasing rate of both adult and child obesity.

Now, that is not to say that every once in a while life gets in the way and that training gets bumped as we prioritize and adjust to the demands of the moment. Recently I've had to do some bumping and prioritizing, and it has given me time to reflect on why I train and why running (My Mojo)  has become so vitally important to my very being. As creatures of habit it is all too easy to lose sight of our reasons for doing what we do on a daily basis. We get up, we go about our day and jam it full with as much as we can do, and we fall in bed exhausted from the effort of it. That is all good and fine as long as we KNOW why we are putting that effort in to all that "doing." It's when we lost sight of those reasons that something we enjoy and value can morph into a mundane experience, becoming more of a chore than a pleasure.

I was approaching that precipice at break-neck speed a few short weeks ago. My Mojo had become a chore, and I was hurtling down the road to injury, fatigue, and burnout, seldom truly looking forward to my daily workouts.  However, taking some time away (Yep..I reached the end of that road to injury) and reconnecting with "My Whys" was just what I needed to bring my fitness picture back into focus.

"My Whys" aren't easy to enumerate and they are a bit muddled up with things like diet and disease...pesky and unpleasant words like that. Not that those things aren't important, but they do not encapsulate the true essence of "My Whys." There are truly many reasons I made the change all those years ago and shifted from the 99% to the 1% (if only all those Occupy people realized it really IS as easy as working hard!) and made the commitment to a fit and active lifestyle. At the time I had lost some weight (a lot, actually) and began to need to exercise in order to continue to shed pounds.

My Why #1 - Weight Loss. 

With the weight loss, other "Whys" began to emerge right along with the change in my body:

My Why #2 & #3 - Improve My Health and Meet New People.

As I lost weight it was easy to see that people responded to me differently, and this precipitated:

My Why #4 - Improve My Self-Confidence. 

Eventually, though, the newness of a new physique and being healthy and confident encouraged the development of:


My Why #5 - Goal-Setting. 

Little did I know that I was capable of achieving rather lofty goals outside of the academic setting...goals like running every distance of race up to the marathon! With each goal achieved, my final why, My Why #6 came clearly into view:

My Why #6 - IT MAKES ME...ME. 

All it took for me to rediscover "My Whys" was to take a step back and re-examine my fitness journey. Everyone has one. Maybe it didn't start with some major weight-loss or an earth-shattering event, but it's there. That one small reason you chose to make training a priority in your life when others didn't seem to understand or even support it. The key to finding "Your Whys" is remembering that reason and embracing all of the amazingly wonderful and monumental things that have happened in your life because of it.


So, go forth and find "Your Why." (then come back here and tell me about it!)