Why Every Mile Matters
By Eric Clifford
Why every mile matters. I could sit here and tell you all some great (ehh) tale about how I needed to get back into shape after an accident. Or, I could tell you about how I’m always about sports and sports is my life! Or even about how I was lost, empty and needed something to fill the hole that was inside me. All of that would be true to an extant but the real reason is that I just didn’t have anything better to do. All my friends stopped playing ball (softball, football, basket…) “I’ve got this with the family.” or “I’m doing that with the family.” I have the kids blah blah blah… You see, being the first one of my friends to get married and have kids I know all that is all bullshit. There’s always time for yourself.
So after a couple years of doing nothing and going from 175/180lbs to 195/200lbs and feeling like my head was going to pop when I bent over to tie my shoes I was like “This sucks. I have got to start doing something.” What can you do that’s a good exercise and that you can do alone… (lightbulb) Running! So I started. Three miles a day in about 40 minutes. I was gassed, sore and couldn’t stop thinking about what the hell happened to me. But I stuck with it and pushed myself to where I’m pretty happy with my distance and speed (most of the time).
Running is part of my life now. But sometimes it becomes my life and I’m not overly happy with that. There must be balance. You need to stay happy or at least not dread the idea of running. If you plan on running races it’s all that much more important. I run for myself. I run to stay in shape to do things. I run so when I go to the show the seat is reasonably comfortable (well that was before most theaters put in oversized seats) and so I can get on a plane and not be squeezed in the seat. I want to be able to work around the house landscaping, or building new decks or putting up walls… I run because I want a life. I’m selfish that way. I know that as long as I can do what needs to be done and then some, everything else will fall into place. I’ll be able to take care of my family, my house, my work doing side jobs (albeit my acting/extra work is pretty easy). I needed something to do so I could do something. Every Mile Matters because they bring me closer to where and what I want to be.
