{"id":50005,"date":"2015-10-28T11:08:56","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T16:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=50005"},"modified":"2015-11-02T15:53:36","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T20:53:36","slug":"running-for-spite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/running-for-spite\/","title":{"rendered":"Running for Spite"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rabbi<\/a>
Rabbi Jack Abramowitz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A number of people have been, and will be, writing about why they are running for Team Yachad in the Miami Marathon and Half-Marathon. Many of these pieces will speak of the good work that Yachad does. As you may be aware, Yachad\u2014the National Jewish Council for Disabilities\u2014is an agency of the Orthodox Union whose raison d’\u00eatre is to promote inclusion within the greater community for those with developmental and other disabilities. I remember witnessing the founding of Yachad during my involvement with NCSY in the [decade redacted to protect the author’s advanced age] and it’s gratifying to see the incredible force that they’ve become and the tens of thousands of lives that they’ve changed.<\/p>\n

Running for Yachad is a great thing. I applaud, support and encourage everyone who is generous-hearted enough to exert the effort of running 13.1 miles (or 26.2 miles in the case of the full marathon) for the cause. I, unfortunately, am not so generous. I\u2019m more the petty-and-vindictive type. I\u2019m running for spite.<\/p>\n

I had forgotten how petty and vindictive I am until I read a Timehop yesterday. Timehop is an app that shows you your Facebook posts each day from that date in previous years. Apparently, in October 2012, I posted a status to the effect that I had been thinking about training for a half-marathon in 2014 but that reality kept sinking in. When you say something like that, you get two types of reaction (aside from deafening silence)\u2014encouragement and skepticism. Encouragement is great but \u201cyou can do it\u201d isn\u2019t as powerful a motivator as disproving those who think you can\u2019t. When it comes to motivation, saying \u201cI\u2019ll show them\u201d to a handful of people trumps proving that the majority\u2019s faith in you isn\u2019t misplaced.<\/p>\n

And so, I ran my first half-marathon for Yachad\u00a0in January 2014. I proved I could do it; achievement unlocked. Now I never have to run again.<\/p>\n

But life doesn\u2019t work that way.<\/p>\n

\"11261828_10153430758773270_4745102439715844035_n\"<\/a>You see, I do CrossFit. (Don\u2019t worry, this isn\u2019t going to be one of those<\/em> articles!) In CrossFit, we do every type of physical activity\u2014weightlifting, cardio, gymnastics \u2013 you name it. I was getting much stronger, and my endurance in general was vastly improved, but my running was not where I wanted it to be. So, this past summer, I engaged one of my coaches for private running lessons. Let me tell you, the results were dramatic. I was improving but I still wasn\u2019t yet where I wanted to be. Knowing that I work better with a goal, I decided to commit to the half-marathon again, in January 2016. And so, I became obligated to run.<\/p>\n

This decision was not without obstacles. During the course of my training, I hurt my knee. How? The physical therapist has no idea but based on the nature of the injury, he suspects heavy lifting was more likely the culprit than running. But no matter the cause, the result was the same: for the duration of my recovery, I couldn\u2019t run, I couldn\u2019t lift, I couldn\u2019t jump. But that doesn\u2019t mean I stayed home. I modified. I can\u2019t box jump? I do step-ups. I can\u2019t jump rope? I do med ball chest passes. I can\u2019t run? I row. Got to keep on moving.<\/p>\n

Happily, my injury has mostly healed, though I do have some residual soreness when I run. And now I run nearly daily. I do three-mile runs a few times a week, a few shorter runs and, once a week, an increasingly-longer run. My training is going much better than it did two years ago\u2014I have much more breath and I sweat far less. But there\u2019s one thing I didn\u2019t tell you.<\/p>\n

I hate running.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true. I really do. Even with my iPod, I find it terribly monotonous. I would much rather use the time available to lift weights or box. So why do I force myself into situations where I have to run?<\/p>\n

Because I want the benefits of running.<\/p>\n

Running is good for a person on so many levels. It\u2019s great for your cardiovascular health. It\u2019s great for weight loss. Believe it or not, it\u2019s great for your mood. And, as mentioned, I want to do it well in CrossFit. I\u2019m never going to reap those benefits unless I put in the effort. So I suck it up. If I\u2019m bored, I\u2019m tired, it\u2019s early, it\u2019s late, it\u2019s hot, it\u2019s cold\u2014it makes no difference. I don\u2019t listen to my own excuses. I run.<\/p>\n

In 2014, I ran to spite the naysayers. In 2016, I\u2019m running to spite myself.<\/p>\n

That was the mashal (the \u201cfable\u201d); here comes the nimshal (the \u201cmoral\u201d):<\/p>\n

We all have things we want to accomplish in life. It could be something physical, like losing weight. It could be something financial, like saving up for a vacation. It could be something spiritual, like finishing all of shas mishnayos. It could be anything. Whatever it is, if it\u2019s worth doing, it\u2019s going to take sacrifice. It may not always be easy. It may not always be fun. And you may encounter obstacles that force you to modify. That\u2019s okay, so long as you don\u2019t stop! If you want to reap the benefits, you have to put in the efforts and not listen to your own excuses.<\/p>\n

Do it despite yourself.<\/p>\n

Do it TO spite yourself.<\/p>\n

————————————————————<\/p>\n

Rabbi Jack Abramowitz, Editor of OU Torah, is nowhere near as petty and vindictive as he would have you believe for comedic effect. You can sponsor his run for Team Yachad at https:\/\/miami.teamyachad.com\/runner\/rabbijack\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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