why run why train why diet why why why

i'm asked pretty consistently why i run. do i really like it? questions like do i really like going to church seem to be of interest to others. it's the oddest thing. then i'm put into the category of individuals who enjoy running. well i do. but i don't think i train because i like it. i train to be ready for that next challenge the next mile. it is the preparation that it provides me for everything and everyone else in my life. when i had brain surgery i remember vividly how prepared i felt for something i could never have imagined would happen to me. my karate taught me the art of not quitting and my running taught me to just move through with the same commitment i made time and time again. these activities gave me the skill base and the tools to do what my faith requires: to accept willingly His will and to desire that it be done. even in the face of death or disability i had to move to a place of total and complete acceptance of God's will and not push against it or try to undermine it with my own preferences. this doesn't exclude healing or treatment but it is freeing to know that God's in charge no matter what the outcome or journey. I have tried to submit to His cross. i prayed for a miracle second only to His design for my life. flash forward my neurosurgeon told me i had a complete and total resection a cure. I was visited the day after my surgery by his support staff who was encouraging me to go home (yes the day after brain surgery). Elias and i insisted on a second night because i felt that i needed to be monitored for a second night and to get my pain managed. Surgery on July 11th home on the 13th; and training six weeks later. i'm not a superhuman endurance athlete this is what makes this so perfect i am the most unlikely person to move off the couch. not to paint an untrue picture i was not myself entirely for several weeks because of medications but my recovery was impressive by any standard. four months later i was at the Phanar for the Papal visit (Nov. 2006) and a month later (Dec. 2006) i conceived Euphemia. I had people all over the world praying for me. Holy people important people who took the time to pray for me and to call my family making all the difference. I have to show my love and appreciation for them by succeeding and giving testimony that all is true. so currently i don't see my life well lived without the run. it's not about my figure or about bragging rights which seems so lame to me. its about what it does for the rest of my life. as for dieting i don't think it is beneficial. i eat what i enjoy and i tend to enjoy carbs and not fats. unless of course they come in the form of potato chips or french fries. i am always amazed at how many times people seem so perplexed for example my mother or mother in law or relatives ask about my eating. everyone seems to be preoccupied with what i eat or what they eat and how much. i eat to live and to enjoy my lifestyle. i am more concerned with healthy living through movement then through diet. this escapes most women i guess. i don't think it's very rational to starve yourself when you can afford to eat. i think that it offends those who go hungry. i also take umbrage with people who eat to the point of gluttony. so i have issues what can i say. i hurt my back yesterday moving the treadmill and i just had to move today because i think not moving enough stiffened up my back. my foot is still bothersome but less so.