My Annual Torture: Bloomsday 2012

Finishers! With my dad and cousin Kaleb

For those that aren't aware, I run in a race each year called the Lilac Bloomsday Run in Spokane, WA. With that kind of title it most certainly must be describing some feat of accomplishment, wouldn't you say? For many, I'm sure it is nothing more than their normal weekend run. But for someone like me, who gets out and runs maybe twice a week, and that's when I'm "training" for the race, saying it is tough is an understatement. It is a 12K (about 7.5 mi) race with three large inclines, the biggest of which is appropriately dubbed "Doomsday Hill". If it weren't for this hill I think I might actually look forward to this day each year.

The Experience

Kidding aside, while I do dread the actual race, mostly because of my lack of preparation ahead of time, I still look forward to the experience each year. Over 50,000 people run/walk in the race and it is the largest timed event in the world. Standing at the starting line and looking at the masses of people filling the streets of downtown Spokane is just awesome. Running side-by-side with so many people who have the same goal in mind is a very different experience compared to lacing up your shoes and going for a run alone. There's a special bond that's created when you encourage and cheer on the guy going up Doomsday in a wheelchair... then whizzes past you at 40 MPH on the straight away. Live bands dot the sidelines of the race and play inspirational music at key points in the course. This year there were even several Cougar flag wavers along the home stretch. Between wheezes I was able to get out some "Go Cougs!" and high fives to the flag-holding alumni.

The Family

The race is also a great excuse to get together with family. This marks the fourth year my dad, my cousin (Kaleb, far right), and myself have run in the race and we hope to continue the tradition. This year Kaleb's sister, Kaitlyn (middle), also participated in the tradition and next year my little cousin, Kaden, wants to join as well. We also changed it up a little bit this year by going up the night before and staying in a hotel. In the past, we would wake up early, drive up to Spokane and do the trip in one day. Waking up and not jumping right into a car definitely made for a more relaxing morning this year. It also made for a good excuse to get away for a weekend and enjoy a city that we generally don't frequent. We had a great weekend and in the future we will definitely opt for the weekend trip versus the one-day event.

The Perseverance

All these things are great but the thing I love most about Bloomsday is also the thing I dread the most: pushing myself. For me, there isn't another time in the year that I push myself harder, physically, than struggling up Doomsday hill. Every year my main goal has been to run the entire race without stopping to walk, even up Doomsday. The self-motivation and perseverance required to fight through the pain and just get to the top is incredible, but the feeling of accomplishment and success is worth every second of effort. It's just super hard to remind myself of that during the painful bits. Every year when I reach the top of that hill I am reminded that pushing through and persevering, even when it's tough and seems impossible, is so worth it. This is a great lesson to be reminded of each year and I try to apply it to other areas of my life.

Personally, at the toughest moments when I consider stopping and walking, I find that focusing on the goal or reward that I will receive, once the suffering is over, makes the pain far more bearable. In the case of the race, it is a self-awarded giant Blizzard or other delicious ice-cream concoction. The same principle can be applied to so many aspects of our lives. Such as the sacrifices we make during a diet: abstaining from delectable desserts in hopes of losing a few pounds. The monotonous hours spent practicing to improve at a musical instrument or repetitive drills that are run to become a better athlete. These examples are experiences I have encountered and have found that when losing focus on the end result it can be tough to continue. Focusing on the goal or reward, however, can give you that extra "oomph" to push on and succeed.