Things I like Thursday - Running

It is utterly masochistic to like running.  After all, who likes to feel all their muscles, including their cardiac muscles, burn from the exertion of propelling your body forward by your own choice, and not because you’re being chased by a pack of wolves?  Actually, quite a lot of us.

Runner’s high is not a tall tale.  Once you’ve completed your run it feels like your birthday, ice cream, puppy dogs, and rainbows all at once… or maybe it’s just your body relieved that you’ve stopped running?

It’s true that it’s hell on your knees, shins, ankles, feet, and joints but it burns 500 calories an hour on average.  There is precious little exercise that competes with that kind of return.

Another truth about running is that very little equipment or skill is needed.  It’s just you, and some sturdy running shoes (also add a good, flattening sports bra if you’re a woman).

Champion Runner - Threadless design

I started running on a recreational basis by accident.  Back in High School I made the cheerleading squad.  That's kind of embarrassing to admit now, but it was the source of much pride and social high status at the time.  After basketball season ended, the cheer squads were given the choice of entering standard P.E. or joining Track and Field.  I hated P.E. as a middle-schooler, so Track and Field it was.  As I could not clear a hurdle without literally falling on my face/ass/etc., was too slow to run sprints, and was actually afraid to throw a disc/javelin/etc., I had no choice but to run the mile, and 2-mile races.  So, I started with the intent to just coast, and not actually run the races (feigning injury or sickness).  But, a funny thing happened when I was training.  I actually started to enjoy it.  Mind you, I have never been a fast long-distance runner.  In races I usually finished last, and occasionally second to last.  But, I never ran to beat anyone else.  I ran to beat my own best time.  After Track was over, the pom-poms were retired.  I joined the cross-country team in the fall, and didn't look back.  

There have been times when I’ve given running up for a period (like pregnancy), and other times when it’s been a daily, meditational must.   I try not to let too many days go in between running, as it then seems like I’m reinventing the wheel, one breathless step at a time.

Though it is hard on my body, running is ideal for achieving some clarity when I’m muddling through a psychological or emotional quagmire.  It also gets me a bit closer to nature.  Running on/near the beach or even a wooded area, provides an entirely different kind of peace then churning on a treadmill.  When I lived in Ohio, that was one of the elements I struggled with during the winter.  Risk slipping on ice running outdoors or stick with the machine in the gym.  I usually opted for the latter, but there were times when I craved the outdoors.

So, I run because it's good for me - body and mind.  As James Joyce once said, "Rapid motion through space elates one."