Depends what the definition of "is" is...

Trying to get back on the blogging band wagon, but the end of summer continues to plague me with business.  My apologies for my loyal fans!  Perhaps we can return to a solid schedule after courses start next week. 

This week, I've been thinking about the concept of exercise as "fun."  Now, I

would never have categorized those two things together before this last year, and many people still wouldn't, but I caught myself telling Bill Agresta the other day that I thought running was "fun."  He seemed to think it was NOT fun, despite he, himself, having been a runner for decades...but I suppose it all depends just what I mean by "fun."  The term, like most, is relative.  Taking a cue from President Clinton, it really depends what the definition of "is" is.

In contemplating just why I think running, in particular, is "fun" in my mind, I've discovered a bit about myself.  Everyone around me has always thought I was a person on top of my game--always getting things done ahead of time, trying to give 100% on anything I do, planning, organizing, details, details, details!  Now, I always just thought that was normal.  I mean, who bothers doing something and doesn't give it 100%???  However, my first inkling that this was perhaps not the standard came when I first had real officemates in graduate school--Francis in particular--who seemed astonished each semester as I posted to class discussion boards first each week and always had term papers done at least a week before the end of the semester.  Why wait until the last second? I thought.

Well, as I've learned in my journey through academia, both as a graduate student and now on the opposite end--there are a lot of people who just want to "get by."  Students ask me "how can I just get a 'C'?" Why wouldn't one aim for an 'A'?  Faculty stroll into class just before the start and make a dash for the door right after.  When I went into teaching, it was because I myself had a passion for learning and wanted to share that with others--not just do the bare minimum to get a paycheck.  There are, after all, far more lucrative ventures than teaching if it was just about the bottom line!

No, I think I like the feeling of pushing myself.  A challenge.  I like to do A LOT and feel bummed if I don't get as much done as I'd hoped--often far more than most people achieve in a day, week, month, lifetime, Phil often reminds me.  Just the other week I was talking to my old officemate Bill--and he was counting off the number of things I was currently involved in, despite the fact, I told him I felt like I "really slacked off" this summer after getting my doctorate.  

So, running is just like anything else in life that I enjoy--challenging.  As I've

mentioned before, it's not easy.  Few things worth doing are.  Even after months of working on it--it's really hard.  I've pushed myself to be able to gain distance and plan on a half marathon in November.  Next year, I hope to focus on getting faster.  Why? Who cares?  I'm never going to the Olympics, after all.  Just because it keeps it challenging--to me.  I may not be the fastest runner, but it's more of a personal competition than anything else--the challenge is really between me, myself, and I--not other runners around me, even at races. 

So, is running "fun" for me? Yes.  Is it hard--yes too.  Was getting a doctorate hard? Yes--but it was fun too.  Is it for everyone? No!  But that all depends on what your definition of fun is.