I recently read an article on irunfar.com by my part-time roommate Dakota Jones, in the comment lines Karl Meltzer invoked the phrase “work to live, don’t live to work”. This got me thinking about how many subtle differences there are in the interpretation of this phrase. Sure on the surface it’s simply implying that you value your personal life and free time more than your daily job, but how one actually put’s this into motion takes many forms. There are those who are fortunate enough to be able to do what they love for a living; whether it be running, climbing, skiing, and have fashioned a way to make a living off their extreme talents. Others for whom work is merely a means to an end, doing only the work that is necessary to sustain the rest of their hobbies, adventures and travels. Then there are the rest of us (I’m guessing), for whom work holds some sort of satisfaction, but none-the-less we sit in our prospective work chairs dreaming of bigger things outside the cubicle.

I’m definitely firmly in the latter, as I enjoy what I do for work on a daily basis, but do find myself day dreaming of warm sunny trails and the next adventure that lies ahead. Even as I write this staring out my lab window at the snow capped mountains in the distance I received a timely text message from a friend asking, “Any interest in skiing something steep and narrow soon?” These day dreams and distractions always seem to increase as the weather warms and summer nears.

Staring out the lab window at downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains in the distance. 4/4/13.

While some part of me is definitely jealous of those ‘professional runners’ out there gallivanting around the world, getting paid to run; another part of me knows that without the intellectual stimulation my job provides, something would be missing inside me. By no means am I implying that the professional athlete doesn’t have these needs or interests, more that each person chooses to satisfy their inner intellect in a different manner. I love puzzles and am fascinated by the human body, and through my research I get to satisfy both of those curiosities, and get paid to do it. If you’re interested in my research I’d be happy to discuss it over a beer sometime, but that’s a lengthy, overly elaborate conversation for another time and another place.

For now I’ll have to be satisfied with my sunny afternoon runs in the Boulder hills, my long weekend blitzes to the desert or the mountains and the occasional several week trip to far away mountains or strange cities. Living up to the label Dakota once gave me, “a weekend warrior”. On a daily basis I’ll continue to try and squeeze in as much as possible balancing; work, running, cycling, yoga, volleyball, blues dancing, and of course friends and family. Though priorities and goals may change in the future, for now I wouldn’t have it any other way. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.