YOU WERE MEANT TO MOVE

There were 5000 plus runners gathered in the fog and the crowd stretched more than a quarter mile down the road from the starting line. I didn’t know a soul, but we all felt bonded together by our common purpose – to run the best race that we could that day. People were everywhere, some stretching to loosen up, others jogging slowly and there was lots of chatter about what we were about to do. Each of us was getting ready to do our best, challenge ourselves and run like the wind. There was a common goal – to feel the joy of movement.

I am 54 years old. I weigh more than I should. I am a cancer survivor with bad knees. I have never played a team sport. Never been any type of an athlete. And none of these things matter.

On August 2nd, I ran the Beach to Beacon 10K road race – that is 6.2 miles. Although I never saw any of the runners from Kenya and Ethiopia who had the fastest times in the race, I was running the same race course they were. I had a timing chip on my shoe and people yelling and clapping as I ran past them. It was the real thing.

I trained for 5 months for this event – both running and cross-training. It was further than I had ever run. One of the most powerful parts of the experience when I was able to run an 8 mile training run – that’s when I knew that I would succeed in the race. I have changed considerably during these past few months. It is not just that I have developed more muscles, tone and strength – although this is definitely important. Somewhere in the process, I became a runner and I learned some very important life lessons.

The first and most important lesson is something I knew deep inside all along. My body was meant to move – that is how it was built and what it was designed for. The same is true for you. Our bodies are meant to be challenged. Not pushed by too much nicotine or alcohol, or by being filled with saturated fat over and over. But challenged by sweating, using muscles hard and stretching them out afterwards.

I have fallen in love with the feeling of moving. At times when I am not running, I think about the feeling of running and wish I were doing it. There is the feel of the breeze on my face and on my arms. There is the rhythm of my arms pumping and feel and sound of my feet on the ground. As I run, my heart is pumping strongly and rhythmically in time to the movement of my body. This is the way our body is supposed to work and deep inside it feels absolutely right.

The mysterious miracle of your body was meant for movement. Deep inside we all know it because we have experienced it. Think back right now to a time when you were in motion and feeling the joy of it – for some of you, it will be easiest to remember a childhood time. Perhaps you were pumping your legs hard on a swing… skipping rope… jumping and shooting on the basketball court or moving through the water. Remember the feeling in your body of freedom and joy. There may be no more powerful positive feeling available to you.

I know it isn’t easy to get this feeling back in your life – it certainly wasn’t easy for me. But I also know you need it. One life lesson I learned about this is how important it is to commit to the goal and have a plan on how to do it. I decided I would do this race and then had to figure out how to make that happen. Usually, you’ll need to get help. Make sure you use whatever resources and people you need. Whatever the adjustments you need to make, figure out a way to do it.

The final lesson then is to stop thinking once the plan is in place. Isn’t it easy to talk yourself out of doing something you don’t really feel like doing? I am an expert at it especially at 6am when I don’t want to get out of bed. What I discovered in my training process is that the plan worked when I didn’t think about it at all. I just get up and get going whether it is a day I run two miles or one that I run eight.

As you continue to follow the plan, you create a habit - movement becomes just something that you do. It is who you are and there really aren’t any decisions to be made. You are probably already this way about brushing your teeth or eating dinner every night or drinking that morning cup of coffee. You can be that way about movement too.

What I want for you is that you rediscover that feeling inside that says you are meant to be in movement…. Find a way to get that back into your life…. Take some small steps today towards reconnecting with the purpose of that miraculous machine you call your body…. This may be a challenge and meeting that challenge can be one of the most rewarding things you do in your life….

I hope you will indeed - MOVE IT.