Flying high on “Doing Life”

You know that feeling you get when you finish a race? That natural high from all the adrenaline running through your veins? Well, I had a huge surge of it running through me this evening on my drive home after meeting up with a group of strangers.

Sound odd? Nope. It’s just “doing life.”

I was nervously excited to attend the Cleveland stop of the Do Life tour. I felt like I was meeting someone in person for the first time who I had only communicated with online. Except it wouldn’t be just one person I was meeting, but many people.

Everyone was super friendly and excited to be at Brookside Reservation to not only meet Ben, Jed and Pa, but to genuinely take interest in others journey in doing life.

We ran about 3.1 miles on a beautiful trail through the reservation, with a challenging hill but I conquered it like a beast! I ran by myself for the majority of the way after I tapered back from Laura, Cole and Travis at the head of the pack. Running solo didn’t bother me, I do it enough so it was nice to tune out of my head and into my music. Aside from the small pain I got in my right quad after tackling the beast of a hill, I felt great running for a second time today. By the end of the run I was pain free and felt good.

It was nice chatting with a small group of people who finished ahead of me and Jed. I felt comfortable and confident holding conversation with people I had just met literally 30 minutes prior. Which, six years ago, I don’t know if I would have felt those same feelings in that situation. I would have stood by awkwardly listening intently to others speak and chime in minimally.

post-run photo session

Our post-run dinner at Panera was awesome! Conversation mainly stuck to running and what we’ve accomplished individually, but random off the wall questions and topics helped break up those awkwardly-silent moments. Again, I was pleased with my ability to be a social butterfly like I’ve become since 2006.

This slightly impromptu meet-up has been proof that my weight-loss has benefited more than just my health. Not only did I shed pounds from my body, I also have shed my social insecurities when it comes to interacting with people, especially strangers, in social situations.

So thank you Ben, Jed and Pa for taking the time out of your summer to reach out to others across this country to encourage them to do life. Thank you for helping me realize that doing life is more than just about a healthy lifestyle and exercise. It’s also about having a health mind and spirit to form amazing relationships with others.