A Case for Running: Power Against the Demons

Sorry this is a day late.  I was busy with (insert good reason here) and just couldn't get to this post until now.

Let's pretend that those men she's tying up are
my metaphorical demons.

I am a lazy person.  At times, I am extremely lazy.  I've been this way since the insanely high energy of my childhood started to wane.  In high school, if I didn't have to go to school, I'd sleep until noon.  Actually, there were times that even though I had to a class to get to, like my zero hour Social Studies class at 7 am (early mornings are still a struggle), where I was lazy enough to not even go.  Even though I knew it would be a cause for problems later on, dragging my butt out of bed was simply not happening.  Even as a mom of four, I still find time to be lazy.  Laziness is one of my demons.  Actually, I should say that laziness is THE demon with which I battle.  I only need this one demon because laziness spawns so many other vices that there's no need to really go into everything I battle because of my laziness.  When I decided to start running after my second child was born, I was making a conscious decision to take on this demon of laziness until one of us was dead.  As it stands now, Laziness is somewhere in the intensive care unit barely holding onto his life.  Running did that for me.  How in the world can you be lazy when you've just spent that last hour beating your legs and lungs into submission as you trudged though 6 miles of hills?  You'd think that once I got home, being so tired that laziness would have one up on me, right?  Wrong!  For some reason, even after that great expenditure of energy, I have even more energy the rest of the day to get things done.  I still have bad days, less you think that I've evolved into some kind of Wonder Woman (I couldn't pull off that outfit anyway as I lack the kind of rack it would take to hold it up).  I have days when, too tired to get out of bed at a non-lazy hour, I don't get my run in and I'm battling really hard, all on my own, to fight the urge to just sit in my bed (during nap time of course) and do nothing even though my kids are running around in only diapers and underwear because of the lack of clean clothes and my house looks like we're more squatters than homeowners.  But I've learned to not let the bad days rule me.  I've learn to stop regretting what I did or didn't do yesterday and just look forward.  So the next day, motivation to run overtakes the laziness and I'm out there running my miles, beating that dang demon to a bloody pulp (too graphic?).

I believe running to be a wonderful way to beat many a demon.  Whether it's low self-esteem, depression, love handles, committment issues, image issues, lack of will power, whatever.  Running, for all the reasons I've listed on this blog week after week, has to the power to beat whatever demons you're fighting.  The sense of accomplishment alone will vanquish those demons of doubt and self-loathing that makes us all unhappy.    I don't honestly know a runner who would disagree with me here. 

So, if you're looking into becoming a runner, here is my 9th reason:  Power to Beat the Demons.  In my head, I always seem to be saying, "If I can run up this hill, then I can organize that dang basement instead of wasting the day to channel surfing," or "If I can run these 6 miles, than I can sure handle the day ahead of me with 4 kids and a mile long list of chores."  My life will not be a lazy life and that's because I choose to run.  You can say that about any demon.  "My life will not be a sad life and that's because I choose to run."  "My life will not be a doubting life and that's because I choose to run."  So get on with it!  Kick that demon to the curb and get running!