Suffering is Optional

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

Say you're running and you start to think, Man this hurts, I can't take it anymore. The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself."

Today I had this overwhelming urge to go to Barnes and Noble after work. I love that labyrinth of literature. I didn't have a certain book in mind to purchase, I just knew I couldn't stand one more subway ride home reading AM New York or making to-do lists over and over in my mind while simultaneously thinking about all of the communicable diseases I was going to attract by holding the pole on the train.  I wasn't going to remember to use hand sanitizer, even though I would make a silent pact with myself to start... next ride.

And then I found this:

The back cover (yes, I do judge a book by its cover) reads, "An intimate look at writing, running, and the incredible way they intersect." IDENTITY CRISIS! Am I Haruki Murakami?

And just like Haru (I imagine we would be on a nickname basis if I ever met him), I am creating my own life lessons with each and every run I write about - by actually putting my body in motion and discovering that suffering is optional.

I've got some fun runs scheduled for the next few months to help me train, kiddos. Want to join? And when everyone decides to stop celebrating the most amazing gifts of matrimony and childbirth [to be read with a hint of sarcasm and jealousy], let's go for a run!

Queens 10k - July 21
Color Run NJ - August 31
Electric Run NY - September 28