The other morning, I was getting ready to lace up for a morning run when I had a short and unpleasant interaction that ended with my dad calling me "Crazy". I felt stung because beyond the disbelief and lack of understanding behind the comment, there was also a hint of ridicule in the word. It only occurred to me then, that doing what I like to do can seem "crazy" to other people.
My immediate reaction was to think of all the reasons why I like to run so next time this happened, I would have a rebuttal.That morning run was fueled by this anger/feeling of not having my passion for running understood and after some reflection, I realized that I didn't need to explain myself.
Maybe I'm "crazy" for:
- Paying money to run for 2 hours.
- Wanting more kilometers rather than more shuteye.
- Spending time to plan out my running routes.
- Looking for music at specific bpm (beats per minute) for my running playlist.
- Pushing my limits, both physically and mentally (especially the latter).
- Venturing into the unknown to find a path for myself (literally, since I run to places I've never been by car).
- Chasing the "runner's high".
- Running around town when most people are just rolling out of bed.
My mom once told me that when someone doesn't like something, they will have no problem naming a zillion reasons why. On the contrary, when you really like something, you probably don't have a zillion reasons. This may be hard to believe, but think about it: if you genuinely like something, you
Won't Need a zillion reasons to justify yourself to anyone. You do it for yourself and
just because. (Aren't moms just so wise?)
So go ahead, call me "Crazy". I probably am. But I don't care.
No amount of reasons will justify why I run because the reason is simple. I Love To Run.
