Running All Out

I have been home the past two weeks since school ended, and usually that means taking a break from school stuff for a few days, maybe a short mini trip to see the kids and grand kids, or some activity to let go of the stress of finishing another school year before plunging into the next one. This year, however, my two weeks after school ended have been spent primarily sitting.

My ankle surgery was the exclamation point to the school year, but maybe a period or series of dots would better describe it. Those who know me do not see me sitting for long, as I am usually moving, sometimes even jogging from place to place. Now I have had to adjust to sitting. OK, so the first couple days I was in a drug-induced painkilling stupor. Which begs the question: why do people want to take mind altering drugs? For half a week all I did was sleep and wonder where I was. Sure, I felt no pain. The problem was I felt nothing. No joy, no laughter, no wonder,nothing. So, out with the painkillers and in with feeling. I jumped into the final two books of the Hunger Games trilogy, Sun Stands Still, and a couple free iBooks. I finished the books, surfed the web, worked on a couple school lists, and then began watching daytime television.

Among other bastions of news reporting, I watched with fascination the "Today" Show, GMA, Ellen, Kathy Lee and Hoda, and a myriad of other mindless programs. Did you know there are shows about storing things, hoarding things, killing things, and lots about eating things? One of the programs I did find enjoyable was the French Open, although tennis can be a bit mind numbing. At times I felt I was watching an old Pong game, but I did like seeing Maria Sharapova win her career Grand Slam. It was in watching her along with a couple track meets on TV that a philosophy I personally hold resurfaced.

When Sharapova was playing her championship match, a commentator said that Sharapova was playing so well that she was not permitting her opponent a chance to win. In other words, she was playing "all out". She was relentless until the final ball landed harmlessly out of bounds, sealing the championship. She fell to her knees in a heap of emotions, the goal and dream attained. Then, in a couple track meets, one the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, I witnessed a couple really good races. My favorites are the mile, 1500, and the 5000 meters. It is here that I have witnessed a change in racing that has cost several elite athletes a chance to shine.

Rather than run all out, these finely conditioned athletes get sucked into a hypnotic and usually deadly game of tactical running that suits only the one with the superb kick. The results are almost predictable, because those who fall victim to the tactics of the few end up alone at the end of the race, frustrated and with plenty left inside their tanks. One race in particular bucked the trend in a New York meet, when Kenyan David Rudisha ran an 800 meter race his way. He started out fast, in he lead. The elite competition had several international and American Olympic hopefuls, yet with 400 meters to go, Rudisha had a 20 meter lead. He kept increasing his speed until he won by more than forty meters against the world's top runners, setting a US record and missing the world record by a half second. When asked why he ran such a race less than a month from the Olympics, Rudisha said with a smile, "I wanted to run to break the record. That is the only way I know to run."

What a philosophy. Steve Prefontaine is till recognized as America's best middle distance runner, and he ran forty years ago. Yet it is his attitude I wish more would emulate. All out. No second guessing. I wonder how many opportunities in life are lost by playing it safe, living a tactical life, watching what everyone else does before moving.

Thank you, David Rudisha. You have remained me of what Jesus also taught. Live an audacious life with no regrets, no doubts, and no fear. Train hard. Run hard. Then Run tour life from the front, increase the tempo, and don't bother looking back. If you are running all out, no one will catch you. They will be too busy strategizing, being tactical, and finishing back in the pack.  

Run. All. Out.