Super Bowl Sunday 2012
Superbowl Sunday! Feels like a holiday, so a long run was in order to start the day. Our group ( me, Jeanette, Bryan and Dave ) met just before 8am, weather was great at 26 degrees and no wind. With a fair amount of moisture in the air and low clouds hanging overhead, it seemed a bit more like fall, not February, in Minnesota.
This evening, two teams will battle for the NFL championship, and many runners will be kickin' back in front of the TV, watching what they eat a bit, but knowing they put in a long run in the morning and not be too worried about a few extra calories. Might even get a nap in during part of the game if the commercials are boring or the game is one sided. Football fans will be going crazy, and come tomorrow they will be talking about the coming season.
Most runners are sports fans, we do cheer for our favorite athletes, teams, and countries...especially during this Olympic year...but we are able to enjoy our sport with the elite in a way other fans are not able to do. We can enter many of the very same competitions they participate in. Sure, we are a few blocks back at the start, but how many people get to play football on the same field as the Ravens, Packers or Patriots? Doesn't happen.
Running is a participation sport for the entire competition, so it makes sense we are able to toe the same course on the same day as Meb, Ryan, Shalane and Desi. No time outs, no switching with the offense, no breaks between plays. You start and you don't stop until you finish the entire course. Other than a small percentage of elite and age group racers, for most of us it's an inner battle against our own challenges. We set the bar, we push ourselves, we win or lose on our accord. No one else to blame for not being prepared, no referees to scream at for blown calls, no excuses needed. We go for our goals and we do or we don't reach them.
Today's game will have all the elements, good and bad, of a team sport. Running cuts through all that clutter. Elite runners may miss out on so much media attention, and citizen runners may still seem a bit odd to their family and friends, but what we attain is due to our own efforts, and that's a championship trophy we earn every time we lace up.
This evening, two teams will battle for the NFL championship, and many runners will be kickin' back in front of the TV, watching what they eat a bit, but knowing they put in a long run in the morning and not be too worried about a few extra calories. Might even get a nap in during part of the game if the commercials are boring or the game is one sided. Football fans will be going crazy, and come tomorrow they will be talking about the coming season.
Most runners are sports fans, we do cheer for our favorite athletes, teams, and countries...especially during this Olympic year...but we are able to enjoy our sport with the elite in a way other fans are not able to do. We can enter many of the very same competitions they participate in. Sure, we are a few blocks back at the start, but how many people get to play football on the same field as the Ravens, Packers or Patriots? Doesn't happen.
Running is a participation sport for the entire competition, so it makes sense we are able to toe the same course on the same day as Meb, Ryan, Shalane and Desi. No time outs, no switching with the offense, no breaks between plays. You start and you don't stop until you finish the entire course. Other than a small percentage of elite and age group racers, for most of us it's an inner battle against our own challenges. We set the bar, we push ourselves, we win or lose on our accord. No one else to blame for not being prepared, no referees to scream at for blown calls, no excuses needed. We go for our goals and we do or we don't reach them.
Today's game will have all the elements, good and bad, of a team sport. Running cuts through all that clutter. Elite runners may miss out on so much media attention, and citizen runners may still seem a bit odd to their family and friends, but what we attain is due to our own efforts, and that's a championship trophy we earn every time we lace up.
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