Vince, a good friend of mine, introduced me to running more than twenty-five years ago and although we jogged together for a while, running gradually became a solitary activity for me. That's OK. My INTJ personality type doesn't mind being alone, at least not for the while that the road has me occupied. That quiet time gives me a chance to let my mind wander, or to center myself or even to escape some stressor for a brief bit.At various points along those two and half decades, I alternately put the running shoes in the closet and took them back out again. Nearly two years ago, in the midst of one of those "shoes outside the closet" periods, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Though recovery from that life-altering event has been mostly smooth sailing, the shoes went back in the closet for the next six months.
Then, on Sunday, April 24th, 2011, the timelapserunner laced those puppies back up again and headed out the door, only walking at first, but working that into on-and-off jogging, and finally into something that could pass for running. To skip ahead some, I've been running ever since. I love it, not in the obsessive, Type-A manner of twenty-five plus years ago; but much as one looks forward to seeing a good friend again, to enjoy the time together. It brings me to a peaceful place, where most of my pretentions are dropped and I feel more human, more alive.
That's why running.
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