Benediction for Mile One
May you not trip over that lip in the sidewalk as you risk your life trying to skip this heinous beat
May you constantly mutter to yourself “I will not judge a run by the first 10 minutes” even though you’re kinda judging this run by the first 10 minutes which have been rough and you forgot to turn on Strava May your feet kindly behave like they have slapped pavement before May the banana you ate in haste please stay in your stomach ugh this song isn’t right May you not trip over that lip in the sidewalk as you risk your life trying to skip this heinous beat UGH NOT THIS SONG EITHER we canceled this artist! You’ll stop if you have to so help you god But may the spirit of Steve Prefontaine keep your feet moving And may the ghost of Michael Jackson remind you most songs are only three minutes You’ll be fine and so will your shins but what if you’re not fine what are the symptoms of heat stroke again? the heat today good god and your bunion whom you’ve named Bartleby and to whom you give a pep talk before every run about how he (of course it’s male) doesn’t need to protest with a blister or say “oh, I would prefer not to” every time you tell him it’s go time May you get your head out of your head! ok but hey brain? your knees hurt and it’s hard and this hill always sucks and asthma and ugh leaf blowers not now Maybe you can cut this one short a mile is fine, that could be good enough for today oh the lawn guy cut the blower to let you pass aw little friendly wave for him Oh! This song is a banger May you inhale and exhale and cross over into Mile Two Minute 11 Let’s go
All - and I mean *all* - aboard the strugglebus.
I was doing a longer run with some friends yesterday morning, and MAAAN, its like you were in my head. Running can feel so hard at the start, but then hopefully you reach a point where everything locks in and its great... At least until it isn't. But even then, its addictive, and wonderful, and hard, and satisfying. Thank you for writing this!