The .1 of 1% and me

Fall running is the best.  Spring is second-best.  And, summer easily trumps winter.  Yes, it can be hot and humid in the summer, but there's no danger of falling on ice and you don't have to spend ten minutes getting dressed to go out.

Overall, this winter has been kind to runners.  Maybe that's why this morning was such a challenge: the ambient temp was +8 and the wind chill temp was -10 when I headed out the door.  Reluctantly.  I planned to do a one-hour run--usually c. 6 miles.  Being prudent, I headed out into the stiff northwest wind.  Not fun.  But, I warmed up fairly quickly, and with the wind to my back after mile 3, I actually enjoyed the run.  So much that I ended up running 7 miles.

Tomorrow's forecast is for a couple of inches of fresh snow.  Fortunately, my schedule calls for a relatively short 4/5 miles tomorrow.  With luck, the streets will be passable. 

On days like today, I remind myself that marathon runners have to be disciplined.  Even when the weather refuses to cooperate.  In fact, especially when the weather refuses to cooperate.  After all, we're an elite even more exclusive than the infamous 1% targeted by Occupy Wall Street (OWS).

Runner, author, and entrepreneur Jeff Galloway (Marathon: You Can Do It) estimates that only .1 of 1% of all people run a marathon.  And, I'm a member of that fraternity.  Many times over.  I ran my first marathon back in 1979.  I ran my marathon PR in 1981 on a gorgeous day in Iowa City, Iowa, at the now-defunct Iowa City Marathon.  I ran my first ultra marathon in 2011.  I'm seriously considering doing my first 50-miler in 2012.

Maybe if I'd been as intent on making money as I was on keeping fit, I'd be a member of the monied elite.  Or, not.  It's been my experience that it's harder to make millions than to run marathons--even if the statistics argue otherwise.  Anyway, I'd rather be fit--and hopefully healthy--than rich.  Money can buy lots of things, but it can't buy time.  And, at my age, time is the most valuable commodity there is.  I'm hoping that my life-time fitness habit buys me some extra time.  Even if it doesn't, fit is more fun.

With obesity at epidemic levels in the U.S., maybe we need an Occupy-like focus on the issue.  But, with a twist.  Instead of occupying the primary culprits--McDonald's, for example, which we already occupy too often--we should encourage people to occupy road races, bike lanes, fitness trails, hiking trails, and the like.   

The idea is to get moving.  You don't have to sign up for a marathon.  In fact, survey data shows that the majority of would-be marathoners sustain injuries before they even get to the starting line. That's not good.  The best activity for each person is the activity that they can and will sustain over time.  Find something that you enjoy.  And, just do it.  (With apologies to Nike.)