Reasons to run

There are many reasons that I run.  Some shallow and some, I guess, are fairly deep.  I was just looking at a recent picture that was taken by a friend of mine of me and my son running together at a  race.  We have done that a lot over the past few years.  Run together, that is.  There is nothing I enjoy more than those times.  We look alike, we run alike, we laugh at the same things.  He is 21 and he is of course faster, but sometimes we will run races together.  Some races he will just take off and go at his own pace.  As he should.  When I first got back into the running thing roughly 4 years ago, I was not in good shape.  But we did a 5k together.  He ran his race(I think he won his age group - shameless bragging opportunity) and I was not sure if I could finish.  I did, but it was painful and slow.  I remember him standing near the finish line.  I was being kicked on and beaten by someone with a double stroller and someone else running with their dog.  I think the dog was dressed in a costume because it was a New Year's Day run.  My son gave me a look like, "what the hell is wrong with you?" and later we laughed about it and it gave me an incentive to really get my stuff together.  Rid myself of some of the crap in my life that was not very healthy.  I was too young to be fat, stressed and a bit depressed and  to give up and say this is the best that I have.  So, I slowly got myself back in shape.  Later that year I had my heel injury.  The injury came at a time when I was starting to see what I could really do if I trained and it was hard to deal with.  But, I did the steps and I kept myself in shape in other ways.  When my foot started to feel better we signed up for a 5k.  I wasn't sure if I could finish, and I did not know how my foot would react.  I wanted to let loose, but I was a bit scared to do so.  Ethan said he was going to run with me.  I pretty much said no, because I know it is hard to run a much slower pace for him.  He likes to fly.  But he stayed with me the whole way.  Every step.  When he heard me struggling, he told me I was okay.  He told not me that I was not going to walk or give up, and I didn't.  He gave me strength.  I have the picture of that race.  We are crossing the finish line at the same time.  Side by side.  I love that picture.   ----Bob