The Nature of Things

If your email inbox or social media pages are anything like mine you are being inundated with various "best of" lists.  Most read articles, most liked photos, best stories, etc, etc, etc.  This is all amplified by the end of the decade.  Glancing through some of these (thanks to slightly more time with winter break) there seems to be a common thread in media.

Everyone is looking for a quick angle.  A way to get their "____________" promoted or viral.  Blog, pic, article, tweet, or whatever else is out there.  The last ten years have seen an acceleration in the I want it now culture.  A simple continuation of the last century.  Nothing new really.  But everything has to be a thing.  A commentary, a reaction to something, being a hater on someone's thoughts or behavior, having to have their say, having to share something.  I don't want to be a fuddy duddy, back in my day kind of person.  At least not yet.  But it is hard to have any commentary on the way things are without out least sounding like you started at the trailhead of grumpiness.

I'm not even saying it is ALL bad. Self-expression can be messy, but on net probably good for society as a whole.  But the general idea of the "angle" goes counter to what running is all about.  By that I mean that if you have running goals (which I suspect most people do) there is no quick fix or angle.  Yes, maybe you get a social media post for a particular brand and they hook you up with a 15% discount.  Maybe you crush a workout and cannot wait to share it on Strava and let the kudos wash over you in their sweet, warm embrace.  It is also possible the workout crushes you and sometimes those stories are even better.

However.  If you have an ambition in the sport, you need to be consistent and committed.  Not compared to others, but compared to what you are/have been and what you are trying to be. We run for all kinds of reasons and I used to think that every run had to have a purpose towards whatever your reason is.  But sometimes, on occasion, a run doesn't have to be a thing or an angle. Sometimes a run is just a run.  That's okay.