Building Resiliency to Take Life and Running to a New Level

Seldom talked about, but could be as important as other focuses in running endurance.

As I was coming off my last training block as a runner, I realized I need to shake things up a little in order to take my running to a new level.

Having come off a training block that was all about getting as much vertical as possible as a flat lander runner, I knew that it was time to begin building a 200-mile endurance body and that this next training block was going to be six months.

I also knew there was something missing from my training and both my running coach/mentor — Chris Guerra of Forged Glory Athletics — and I knew it was little to do with my approach to training.

I have taken training very seriously since I first began running eleven years ago at 240 pounds and 47 years old. I knew I wouldn’t be able to achieve any of my running or fitness goals without getting serious about training.

I’ve spent time studying and incorporating better running mechanics, nutrition, stretching, and different forms of training in order to build a durable running body.

I’ve also spent time studying the mental and emotional aspects of endurance running in order to overcome a defeatist and inferiority mode of thinking, which derailed many of my ultra-marathon races before I even toed the start line.

This is why I knew there was something else lurking behind the scenes that were going to change not only my approach to endurance running but also the way I approach life and the future as a now 58-year-old.

Suddenly, everywhere I turned this one word kept popping up, and I am just bright enough to know that I should pay attention when something like this begins to happen.

That one word was resiliency, and it may just be a word that a lot of us need to get familiar with in these turbulent and chaotic times.

What is Resiliency and Why Could This Be Important?

Merriam-Webster online dictionary has two definitions for this word — resiliency. Both are appropriate for this discussion.

The first definition is “the ability of something to return to its original size and shape after being compressed or deformed.”

As a runner, this may be easy to understand because one of the most important tools in running uses this definition in order for us to run without injury.

There is still huge debate as to whether rotating your running shoes allows the midsole foam to decompress and restore itself to a shape that allows us to run without injury.

I’ll leave that argument to the experts, but I do believe that rotating shoes definitely makes them less stinky and I buy off on the reasons given in a Running Canada Magazine article, Five Reasons to Rotate Your Running Shoes.

However, the second definition given by Merriam-Webster online dictionary may carry more weight and make this resiliency word a little more understandable.

Resiliency in this definition is “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to adversity or change”.

When we take this definition along with the first definition and apply them to our ability to run long distances, it makes resiliency kind of just pop off the page.

When we begin building bodies that can pop back into shape after a hard outing quickly, we reduce our chances of injury. That’s how to apply the first definition of resiliency.

When we are able to recover or adjust easily to adversity or change in our running routines as well as build bodies that are able to reset with ease, suddenly our resilience and thus endurance climb to whole new levels.

When we begin to build resiliency into our training, we build a whole new level of fun and joy into our running.

Building Resiliency as a Runner

The best quote I saw for resiliency as a runner was in a Finish Line Blog post, What Has Running Taught You About Resilience?

This quote sums up why resilience is so important as a runner. “Resilience means you have the strength to handle whatever is thrown at you, whether it be unpredictable or an ongoing challenge.”

This speaks to the importance of developing something we all have inside of us, but few will focus on building a lasting resiliency that will enable us to overcome all the obstacles thrown in our paths.

I stumbled upon the importance of resiliency after a friend recommended a book to me. Resilient: Restoring Your Soul In These Turbulent Times is a book by John Eldredge that speaks to using tools to build spiritual resilience. I decided I could take those same tools and build resilience in every aspect of my life.

I found another article helpful in structuring resiliency training into my everyday routine. Flomentum was a curious place to find a blog article on 5 Ways to Build Resilience, but I’m glad I read the article because all of these aspects from three diverse sources give us a clue as to what it will take to build resiliency.

With this background information out of the way, let’s dive into developing resiliency.

1. The first step to building resiliency may take some by surprise. This step is creating elasticity. Elasticity is how an object can bounce back to its original shape. As a runner, this is the ability to recover from obstacles and misfortunes and continue moving forward. The method I use in training to develop elasticity is to throw an obstacle into a run. The other day I was running on a trail in one of our local state parks in Hampton Roads. The trail runs along a very soft beach. I usually avoid the beach as my shoes feel up with sand. This time, I purposely headed onto the beach and ran the mile out to where it ended and back again. I’ll also purposely find a water crossing in my runs, or a steep hill and throw those into the training run to build something to overcome. I’ve also thrown speed work into the middle of a twenty-mile run to task my body with something other than just the normal clicking off of mileage which we tend to focus on. I have a friend who is a fast runner, and he will literally slow his pace down to a slow stroll in the middle of a run and then see how quickly he can push himself back up to pace. Anything you can do to throw your routine off and recover will begin to build elasticity, which will go a long way towards developing resilience.
2. This is one that many of you will find extremely strange. If the statistics that show how much time the average American spends on their smartphone are accurate, this may be one of the most important things you do as a runner. Statista.com states that the average person spends five to six hours on their smartphone. All I did was seek to spend less than two hours a day on my smartphone. But how? I mean, you have to take your phone with you on a run, right? No, there is no rule that says you have to take your phone with you. But, you have to download your run to Strava © so all your friends will know you went for a run, right? No, you do not need to download every run onto Strava so everybody can give you kudos for doing something you should be doing anyway. This is the step I call unplugging. I reduced the amount of time I spent reading news, reduced the amount of time I spent on social media, and reduced the amount of time I spent playing games on my phone. And I’m not done yet, because what I have found is that by reducing this stress in my life, I am building resiliency to be able to recover better, have better endurance, and not give in to the temptation to compare myself to anybody else. And that last statement is the key to building resiliency. You are an experiment of one and running is all about you versus you. You compete only with yourself in developing the kind of body and mind that can withstand the stresses of life and running and bounce back healthier and stronger. Unplug and see what happens.
3. The last step I am taking in building resiliency is to be okay with less than perfect. This means that when I can tell that I am getting into a poor running posture, rather than continue to slay the miles, I stop and picture myself running with good posture and proper form. I do strength training that helps me keep better posture and form for longer periods of time. I stretch before and after runs just enough to allow my body to recover quicker. I pay attention to what I eat and drink in order to fuel my body properly and not have to detox on a regular basis. And lastly, I do not allow negative people and thoughts head space in my heart, mind, and soul. I purposely have relationships with people that are about building others up and not tearing people down in order to feel more important. Many people call this type of training mindfulness. I call it living life to the full, living that ultra life.

Building resiliency can lead to a whole new level of living life and running without injury as a side bonus. When we begin to take the steps necessary to live a life able to withstand the stresses and flow of life, we allow ourselves the space to be better humans.

That’s worth taking the time to add a new twist to our training all by itself.