Why I Run

“Your BMI is much too high,” my doctor told me.  BMI stands for Body Mass Index, which is your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches squared, multiplied by 703.  In other words, it is a formula that compares your height and weight, and then tells you how fat you are.  It doesn’t take into account muscle, so a somewhat chubby guy with no muscle would have a lower BMI and thus be considered healthier than a buff dude with big muscles.  As a weightlifter, you can guess what I think of the formula.  My doctor warned me of stress on my joints and heart if I don’t drop weight and decrease my BMI.  So, in an effort to decrease my BMI, I went for a run this morning. 

Actually, going for a run this morning had nothing to do with my BMI.  It had to do with the fact that I lay in bed last night and couldn’t even begin to shut my mind off or make my headache vanish.  I had that headache all day, which is very rare for me.  Perhaps it was the potato-infused vodka I splashed in my bloody mary the evening prior, or perhaps it was my to-do list running rampant circles around my head.  What does my 2012 year look like?  Work full time in the spring as a college prof.  Do about 800 hours of international tax and finance consulting.  Prepare about 45 individual tax returns.  Lead a variety of new continuing education courses on ethics for both accountants and lawyers.  Write a book on legendary football coach John Gagliardi.  Somewhere in there, I need to make plenty of time for my faith, family, and friends.  Do I think that is a lot of irons in the fire?  Yes.  But more than that, it represents a lot of opportunity, and I need to make the most of it.

Anyway, my wife kicked me out of bed and I ended up falling asleep on the recliner in front of the fireplace.  When I awoke the next morning at 9:15AM, my headache was gone.  But, I knew it would come back as soon as circle of to-do’s began increasing their speed of revolutions in my head.

To pre-empt my to-do list monsters from taking control, I went for a morning run.  My run started in our residential neighborhood, but quickly led me to a series of trails.  I have run these trails all the time; but probably not for the past 3 months, as I have been “too busy to run.”  Once I hit the trails, my mind began to process all the busyness and garbage of life.  My mind was racing through imaginary battles with students, battles with other faculty, and of course the ever intimidating to-do list of the looming 2012 year.

30 minutes later, I took a left turn onto West Royal Oaks Drive and saw my street in the distance.  As is my custom, I stopped running when I reached my street and walked the final 100 yards home.  While walking home, I realized that I had spent my entire run thinking, planning, and processing.  But more than anything, I had spent the run battling.  Today’s battle was against students and other faculty.  Other days, I battle against family, friends, neighbors, or the obnoxious stranger whom I encounter.  I always win these battles and generally conquer the world when I am out on my runs.

As I entered my home and maneuvered toward the fresh, hot coffee my wife had so graciously prepared for me, I noticed that a giant weight had been lifted from my shoulders.  I had left all of my problems out on the trails.  Had I instead decided that I was too busy to go for a run, those life problems would have weighed heavily on me all day and crippled my productivity.  Instead, I let the trails deal with my problems.  By tomorrow morning, I will probably have more problems to discuss with the trails, and I look forward to again conquering the world on my run.  In essence, I am finding that I am too busy not to run.

Do I run in order to decrease my BMI?  Heck no.  I run in order to clear my mind and have the mental energy to conquer another day.  By the way, doc, your BMI may be considerably lower than mine, but don’t remind me about it again.  Or I will sit on you.