Run Rat

It takes a while to define yourself.  A lifetime, we could say.  And then, of course, we add things to who we are, delete a few…a cycle of change.

I guess I took a leap by one day deciding it was running that truly defined me.  It is where I get the strength to take on what the day holds.  I sweat, I laugh, I discover, I watch the sun rise when most of the world…at least most of the time zone…stays slumbered.  And then, a bit boldly…I put it on my license plate.

After scouring and synthesizing words and letters…I cleverly created the license plate RNR AT  (insert heart symbol here).  I was so pleased with myself.  And truly shocked the DMV had not given it to some other deserving runner.  And then the plates arrived.

I opened up the stiff envelope, pulled out the shining plates and saw RNRAT (yep…another heart symbol here).  No spaces where I had envisioned.  Just letters smooshed against one another.  OK…spend a moment staring at those letters…and you, too, will see what others did.  “Run Rat”.  What that means…who knows?  I like rats…but even that has its limits.  And being a run rat was by no means what I intended.  I had an image of a somewhat stringy version of Templeton sporting a flashy pair of Nikes. I was really going for that Zen runner, at peace just running.  But I guess that comes from attempting to define yourself.

So, yes, I do like to run.  I like to run a lot.  Most of my days, except a rare few, start with a run.  And I am far too hesitant to add up my weekly miles…because I like to just run for what that day needs.  Most days need a lot of miles.  So I refrain from adding it up.  And just run.  And as most runners can attest, the love of running is frightfully addicting.

But today was different.  And the next several weeks…I have been told six to eight of them…will also be.  I discovered yesterday that I have a stress fracture. What I find so odd is how can something that releases such stress actually create a fracture?  But it did…and now I somehow have change.  Even redefine a bit of who I am.

Here I attempt to find a way for this stress fracture to be stress free. Writing about this new road may keep me in a place that I thought only the miles could bring.  I may even make peace with my personalized plates and their rodent affiliation.  And I will hope that somehow this little rat finds a way back to the heart of what matters.  And who knows…maybe I will be sporting those flashy Nikes sooner than I thought