The Pursuit

It is human nature to always be in the pursuit of something. Maybe it's the pursuit of a job, of love, of comfort, or perhaps happiness. For those of us who pound the streets or ride for the challenge of endurance sports, there is an insatiable appetite for pursuit. We pursue personal records, we pursue a great rush from succeeding, we pursue gear, we pursue that next person up ahead hoping we have what it takes to pass them.

On the roads by 6:15 a.m., I was left to the darkness to begin my pursuit. My pursuit for the day was an 18 miler. It's a word that took on greater meaning after enjoying date night with my wife and going to see the Pursuit of Happyness last night. It's message stuck with me with every step this morning, it's lesson was loud and clear in the quiet solitude of the darkness. It go me thinking about the things we pursue everyday that are so inconsequential in life. If you haven't seen the movie, I won't ruin too much of it...but it will likely leave you reevaluating the importance of certain things in your life.

As I made my way through the trails of downtown Austin, I saw hundreds of people all pursuing something...this question is what were they pursuing? At mile 10 I was passed -- okay left in the dust -- by Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert is an Austin running icon who escaped holocaust in his native Burundi, was burned badly in a mass killing and literally ran for his life. I passed him and realized his pursuit was heroic. Next, on the trail was Desiree Ficker...2nd place finisher this year at Kona. Desiree's pursuit of "The Next Level" was epic a few months ago and she certainly solidified her spot among the elite in the sport of professional triathlon. Whether pro or age grouper our pursuits aren't really all that much different. It just takes us longer to get where were going than people with such God-given talent and drive like Gilbert and Desiree.

At mile 11 I met up with Spence in mid stride. Spence has been rock-solid in his training for his first half-marathon. It's great to see him every Saturday and catch up, hear the latest stories about fatherhood from his home, and see the improvement we've both made because of our Saturday escape. Spence and I also share another pursuit -- the pursuit of being good fathers. We cranked out the remaining miles and finished strong.

I came home to find Chicklet working on her pursuit to master Candyland.... MiniMe was working on his pursuit of walking. And mom was pursuing providing the best possible nutrition for her family. Big goals or small we are always in a constant state of pursuit (or at least we should be.)

The funny thing about pursuit is it is never over. Once you succeed it is only human to want more, to want to succeed more, to set more goals. So, yes, today we succeeded with good runs. But it is clear, we will always be pursuing something -- in our personal lives, in our professional lives, and in our competitive lives. I pray all of our pursuits will be of things worthwhile.

What will you pursuits be for 2007?

Workout stats:
Town Lake trail / Downtown Austin
18 miles
2.53.27
9.38 avg pace