Confessions of a Treadmill Runner
Some people call it the dreadmill . . . I call it my thought processor
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
It’s a cliché, I know.
But I think of it when I get up in the morning.
It’s a reminder that no matter what went wrong – or right – the day before, this is now.
The future is waiting to unfold before me, brimming with possibility, teeming with potential.
I craft my future if I don’t live in my past.
And the thought processor churns on…
It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post. There are a lot of reasons for this – the holidays came up, my travel schedule this year has been more intense than in prior years, I’ve chosen to spend time goofing off, etc. But the main reason I’ve not written is that after the 2012 NWM, I became disenchanted with the running community. To be specific, the online running community. To be even more specific, the online running groups on Facebook.
The social aspect – online or in real life – has never been part of why I run. So it’s been frustrating that I let my disenchantment with these online running groups affect my running.
In these past few months, I’ve tried to overcome my disenchantment with my fellow runners. For me, part of overcoming any feeling is figuring out why. Why was I disenchanted with my fellow runners as a result of running groups on Facebook?
I could tell you specific reasons and even share screenshots with you. But that wasn’t the why that I needed to understand. The why that I needed to understand went deeper. Why was I letting these Facebook running groups bother me so? Even after I left the groups and deleted the chats?
For a long time, I couldn’t answer that question. But on a recent trip, I read a brief bit in Hemispheres, the inflight publication of United Airlines, that said we remember things that we see in social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) better and longer than things we see in any other medium. They aren’t quite sure why. They speculate it’s because of the chatty, gossipy nature of social media.
Somehow, after reading that handful of paragraphs, I felt validated for letting those Facebook running groups bother me. And although I’m not ready to engage with those groups again, I am ready to put those bad episodes behind me. I’ve achieved closure as a result of that magazine blurb and plan to get back in the habit of posting regularly.
Have you ever simmered, seethed, and steamed over a Facebook post or a Tweet? Share in the comments below!
Happy Running!
I managed to run a bit during the Thanksgiving break. Since I didn’t have to work, I managed to run outside a lot. Since I don’t listen to music when I’m running outside (only when I’m in a race!), my thoughts were darting here, there, and everywhere. Here are the ones I remembered when I got back home:
And the thought processor churns on…
Confessions of a Treadmill Runner 