- This was printed in November of 2014 in The Madera Tribune, a newspaper in Madera, California. This was the 80th installment of my weekly column, Mind Over Miles.
Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow and inevitably someone is going to ask you, “What
are you thankful for?”
You may come up with a few things off of the top of your head: Family, friends, good
health, running…
Stop. That list is tired.
Here’s a different way to think about the question: Think of all the things you “have
to” do throughout your day and change your perspective — realize that you “get to”
do them.
I have to run in the 5 a.m. cold and fog. No, I get to run at 5 a.m. with some of the
best running buddies anyone could ask for, and do it before my children wake up
and notice I’m gone.
I have to wake up at 7 a.m. on non-running days because my kids don’t know how to
sleep in. No, I get to wake up at 7 a.m. to see the smiling faces of the cutest kids on
the planet, with their crooked pajamas, morning hair and need for cuddles.
I have to clean up after my kids. No, I get encourage independence in my daughter
by teaching her how to pour her own bowl of cereal and milk, even if she spills a
little. I get to laugh as my son eats two Cheerios and then tosses a handful of them to
Buster — or in his 14-month-old dialect, Bud-tah.
I have to work. No, I get to edit the stories that you read in this newspaper. I get to
write about running each week. I get to pay my bills and buy new clothes for my kids
with my hard-earned money.
I have to cook, clean and do the dishes. No, I get to prepare healthy, delicious
dinners that nourish my family and myself. I get to live in a healthy, neat
environment. I get to let the dishwasher make my dishes spotless.
I have to put my kids to bed when I’m dead tired and can barely keep my eyes open.
No, I get to read bedtime stories to my children and tuck them into their beds, safe
and sound in the cozy house that I get to pay the mortgage on.
All of those are things to be grateful for — yes, even the bills and the mortgage.
Think of the alternatives.
Maybe if we all changed our perspective it would make us better, happier, more
grateful people.
Heck, maybe more people would run if they changed their perspective. I run
because I can, because I have a body that is physically able to. I’m grateful —
thankful — for that.
So thankful, in fact, that I’m starting my Thanksgiving morning with a run — the 8
a.m. Turkey Trot 5K race at Woodward Park in Fresno.
There is NO race day registration, but you have from 2 to 6 p.m. today to sign up in
person at Sierra Running Company, 9447 N. Fort Washington in Fresno. Click on the
Turkey Trot link at http://www.runsierra.org for details.
It’s an awesome way to run the Central Section Cross Country Championship course
that the Madera South cross country team floated over last week — the boys took
their sixth consecutive section crown, this time Div. I, and the girls won the Div. II
race.
It’s a challenging, hilly, 3.1-mile course — a perfect trek to make before devouring
your Thanksgiving meal.
Gazelle Runs Ultras 