Running Saved My Sanity

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Abstract

ect of my life right now: growth. If I’m not growing in some way, I get angsty and down on life. Now, being a newbie, every time I went out for a run I was improving my time. Now I had something to be <i>excited</i> about.</p><p id="58e1">I even started beating my 1.5 mile run time from when I was back in the army. That was 10 years and another 18lbs ago. Fast forward another couple of weeks, and I’m <i>destroying</i> that time. Even a bad run now is still better than what I did back then. That sort of growth made me feel alive<i> again. </i>Twice per week on my shorter runs, I’d go as fast as I possibly could. If I wasn’t uncomfortable the whole time, I’d will my legs to go faster and ease off just before the point of getting a stitch.</p><p id="848b">It was exhilarating.</p><p id="eee9">The feeling of pushing myself so hard, and then seeing the big improvement in my time had me feeling like Rocky with his hands raised in the air at the end of his runs. I’d finish those runs wheezing like an asthmatic, barely able to stand up, then I’d see my time and yell out “YEAH!” because I couldn’t contain my excitement.</p><p id="2c30">Apart from the motivating factor, what I’ve liked so much is that even when I’m feeling tired and not up for it, I don’t <i>need </i>to be motivated. All I need to do is get my clothes on and get out the front door. Put one foot in front of the other, even if it’s slow and uncomfortable, and soon enough I’ll be in the groove and running. It’s not like the gym where I have to really feel up for it and psyched. It’s almost a lazy way of exercising.</p><p id="f58c">But now the end is in sight. I’m lucky enough to be in Australia, where gyms will officially open again tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back on the climbing wall and lifting some atlas stones at the gym. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself.</p><p id="6c3d">That doesn’t mean I’ll stop running though. I’ll scale it back to just once a week because I now understand better than ever the benefits that it provides. I’m sure my times won’t be so great with that frequency, but I’ll be doing it for its own sake now, for the pure enjoyment

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of it.</p><p id="f55a">That’s something I thought I’d <i>never </i>say.</p><p id="e279">Related:</p><div id="21bf" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/8-ways-to-make-your-training-sessions-more-effective-44af6847b97c"> <div> <div> <h2>8 Ways to Make Your Training Sessions More Effective</h2> <div><h3>There’s a big difference between a training session and just exercising. If you’re just getting a workout in, you find…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*yl8GQgQJiyBy_u6DIfTwNw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="b8f3" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/5-supplements-worth-your-money-in-2020-7d23c9d2fa45"> <div> <div> <h2>5 Supplements worth your money in 2020</h2> <div><h3>Higher performance for athletes or anyone looking to up their game</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*PNvNctKyV529xLmMo85y7w.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="3c38" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/4-reasons-not-to-waste-money-on-a-fitness-tracker-b0f02952fb07"> <div> <div> <h2>4 Reasons not to waste money on a fitness tracker</h2> <div><h3>Well, it’s the end of another year, and that means people are looking forward to the next one, thinking about how this…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*aDOwU1PfUVgZB6pK31Tfgg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

From gym rat, to cardio bunny

I’ve never liked running.

I’ve always found it very uncomfortable, boring and not worth the time that it takes. That sentiment has only increased in my thirties, as, being a strength athlete, I gained a decent amount of weight to improve at my sport. Oh, I could still do cardio, that wasn’t an issue, but the activity of running just sucked the big one for me. I used to joke that running for me was like Silas in The Da Vinci Code when he whipped himself.

Then COVID19 happened.

Climbing gyms and regular gyms closed. No climbing, no lifting weights, assault bike or swimming. I don’t have some awesome garage gym setup, because I like to be in the gym. All I had was a 24kg kettlebell and let me tell you, working out with the same implement gets boring really quick. So what else is there to do?

Couple that with isolation. Not only was life completely turned upside down and I couldn’t see any of my friends, work colleagues or family, but now I’m stuck at home without the ability to stay fit like I normally would. To further put that in perspective, I might not be an athlete in the sense that I compete anymore, but I still train like one. 6 days per week, twice on Saturday (i do yoga before I climb). Imagine going from that to nothing. So what was the solution?

Guess I’ll go for a run.

And you know what, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I remembered. I’m about 18lbs down since I stopped competing in strongman over a year ago — so that, combined with being a climber and doing cardio meant that my body was a lot better suited for the activity.

I went from hating running to going 3 times a week. It’s become my solace during isolation, because it represents the thing I need most that I don’t have in any other aspect of my life right now: growth. If I’m not growing in some way, I get angsty and down on life. Now, being a newbie, every time I went out for a run I was improving my time. Now I had something to be excited about.

I even started beating my 1.5 mile run time from when I was back in the army. That was 10 years and another 18lbs ago. Fast forward another couple of weeks, and I’m destroying that time. Even a bad run now is still better than what I did back then. That sort of growth made me feel alive again. Twice per week on my shorter runs, I’d go as fast as I possibly could. If I wasn’t uncomfortable the whole time, I’d will my legs to go faster and ease off just before the point of getting a stitch.

It was exhilarating.

The feeling of pushing myself so hard, and then seeing the big improvement in my time had me feeling like Rocky with his hands raised in the air at the end of his runs. I’d finish those runs wheezing like an asthmatic, barely able to stand up, then I’d see my time and yell out “YEAH!” because I couldn’t contain my excitement.

Apart from the motivating factor, what I’ve liked so much is that even when I’m feeling tired and not up for it, I don’t need to be motivated. All I need to do is get my clothes on and get out the front door. Put one foot in front of the other, even if it’s slow and uncomfortable, and soon enough I’ll be in the groove and running. It’s not like the gym where I have to really feel up for it and psyched. It’s almost a lazy way of exercising.

But now the end is in sight. I’m lucky enough to be in Australia, where gyms will officially open again tomorrow. I can’t wait to get back on the climbing wall and lifting some atlas stones at the gym. I’m so excited I can barely contain myself.

That doesn’t mean I’ll stop running though. I’ll scale it back to just once a week because I now understand better than ever the benefits that it provides. I’m sure my times won’t be so great with that frequency, but I’ll be doing it for its own sake now, for the pure enjoyment of it.

That’s something I thought I’d never say.