Why This Blog Exists.
Running is a sport that is full of false starts. In mid-August of this year, I decided it was time for me to start a new routine of running consistently again. An unambitious routine, mind you; designed simply to maximize my enjoyment of the sport. I told myself I would run twice a week- at any distance and any pace– until I felt comfortable enough to increase my output from there.
This initial plan was a wild change from the training I’d engaged with over the course of the last eight years. After all, throughout my time on my high school and college cross country/track teams, my first week of training alone would have required at least four separate days of running. So, I thought that two days a week was the least I could ask of myself.
But life happens continuously and sporadically without the stability of school life, and soon, even my minor commitment to running proved to be too much for me for a time. This was a shock for me at first, as I missed my goal for many weeks throughout September and October; but I had to accept that the pressures of full-time jobs inevitably draw us away from our personal goals and hobbies. This has been a strange inversion of priorities for me, because in high school, running became my entire world. Throughout the last eight years of my life, distance running practically became both my full-time job and my lifestyle, and everything else came second to the sport. Many potential friendships and promising opportunities became the real “false starts” in my life, while my running career rushed onward towards the finish line, unaware of the second pop of the starting gun.
False starts in distance running occur when one or more runners start running before the starting gun is shot. If this happens, the starter will shoot the gun again, signaling that everyone should go back to the line. A race that never really starts; a race that could have been infinitely better or worse for each of the runners on the line. But the false starts don’t end there, and they don’t get any less shocking or tragic: Injuries. Long bouts of poor performances. Global pandemics. All of these things can destroy promising cross country and track seasons and take away a runner’s chance to find a fresh start with the sport. And for a moment, the runner questions whether they dare continue on with the sport that breaks them down so heartlessly.
But if you love this sport as much as I do, then you know how hard it is to stay away.
I’m back in Boston now, and after four long months spent only running once or twice every few weeks, I’m ready to get back in the saddle. This time, I’m going to take my writing along for the ride.
I’ve decided to start this blog for two reasons. The first is a desire to become a better writer, and I recognize that having a specific domain to post my writing and grow more comfortable with informal discussions would be a valuable experience for me to pin myself down into a better routine with writing. The second reason is the need I feel to dive deeper into the epic highs and lows of my running career, to the point where I can fully accept it and embrace it for what it was. Because I admit, I still struggle to wash away the bitterness I often feel towards my worst performances. Even reading other people’s experiences with the sport make my eyes sting with tears formed by a fusion of wistfulness and wonder; even watching other athletes compete in any sport makes me cut back into the very core of my passion for my own competitions. This sport has shaped me, even as I have gone on to try and fill other vessels; these miles have drained me, even as my body grows constantly more restless for every minute I sit still. So I am writing this blog to define how the sport of distance running has helped me grow and regress, how it has made me feel both love and hate, and how it will help to carry me forward for many years to come. This sport is everything to me; it is nothing. And I need to pour my words on the matter out of me and onto the page.
So if you wish to tag along, I think there might be something here for anyone to gravitate towards. I want to encourage other people to share their stories of success and failure as well; I want to remind people that running can form grand communities that you never would have dreamed of, and give you a sense of euphoria that reaches beyond exhaustion.
In summation: For some unknown period of time, I’ll be posting on this blog every time that I go for a run. If you want to know when I post, you can either keep tabs on this website or follow me on Strava at Tim Weighart. I will link to my newest blog post on each Strava log.
I also want to assure you that many of my posts will not be nearly so lengthy or dense (although some will). As I’ve mentioned, I have strong feelings about this sport, and those feelings pour out of me quite often, but I will try to keep the majority of my posts more digestible and light. I’ll probably feel inclined to do that once my schedule gets busier anyway. I’ll get into the actual run now. The run itself is a “false start” in it’s own right, as its not a beginning in any meaningful way, but it’s where I’m starting this time. Whether I give up on this blog after a week or keep it going for decades, thanks for reading!
10/26/2022: 3.74 Miles
Well, I’m back home in Boston after four months spent working in a beautiful part of Idaho (the Sawtooth Wilderness), and I can’t believe how unbearably humid it gets over here! Though it was raining lightly today, I’m confident my clothes still would have been soaked through in this humidity. Luckily, the light drizzle did keep me relatively cool today, but the wetness still gets unpleasant pretty dang fast.
After dodging around the hordes of Boston University Students on their various commutes, I got out to the Charles. There’s something so timeless about running on this river… The flat, simple concrete walkways combined with the Boston skyline hanging constantly in the background guarantees as much or as little sightseeing as your heart may desire, and otherwise you can just lose yourself in thought for practically the whole run.
I’m still struggling to sustain my old jogging pace, which is understandable as I’m only aiming to run three days a week right now. Even so, I can’t help but pursue that faster pace; I just crave the simple challenge of making my lungs heave and my joints ache as I run for even this brief time.
But all short runs must come to an end, and I was back in my house soon enough, scrambling into the shower so I could finally shed my dripping wet clothes (my socks were soaked through too, so my wet footprints led all the way upstairs and into the bathroom). That’s all I’ve got for today, so always beware of Boston’s humidity in the midst of thick fogs and until next time, Tim’s still running.
P.S. Burned 420 calories on the run today! So… get lit?