Julia & Julie

I’m not sure why I watched Julia and Julie on a recent airplane trip, but I did. It’s not really the kind of movie I usually watch, but I found myself enjoying it.

What does this have to do with running? The story is of a lady whose life is a bit of a mess. She’s not happy with her job and is looking for something to give her life meaning. She enjoys cooking and Julia Child is a bit of an idol for her.

So she decides to work her way through The Joy of Cooking, the famous cookbook of Julia Child. It has about 540-some recipes in it. Her husband says she needs some type of deadline as motivation, and suggests a year. She’s a little flabbergasted, but she agrees and decides to blog about it.

As you might guess, it’s a struggle, but she perseveres, documenting her journey through cooking something every day. And along the way she discovers what I did:

It’s the act of doing something every day that gives you meaning. It sustains you, and it’s a huge accomplishment. It provides a lot of mental satisfaction and energy.

Julie goes on to a cooking show and some success (it’s based on a true story), and while my running isn’t likely to give me any material success, it’s an accomplishment that I will treasure forever.