This morning I ran 8.1 miles, which is about 13 kilometers. It was exhilarating, particularly because as I was doing it I realized I could run for eternity. I didn’t feel tired once… I just needed to hit the books after a while, which was the only reason I stopped when I did. I’ve never been a runner. But I’ve believed in cardio from the start: cardio to lose weight, strength-training to look good. When I started gyming it regularly, my cardio exercise was the elliptical machine and the elliptical machine only (you’re far less likely to strain your joints and it’s still a mega pound-shedder). But about three months ago, I decided I would become a long-distance runner.
There were a couple of things that sold running. First off, it’s pretty free. After a good pair of shoes, and a device for music on the go, I pretty much just need my legs. So when I’m away from home, out of town, on holiday, gym-less, I can still give myself a solid workout. It’s a great time to shift whatever gear you find yourself in, whatever mood's choking you, any stagnant energy you’re storing. I got into running as a way of subscribing to a culture that would allow me to maintain my weight loss by committing to an active lifestyle.
Because I know, accept and enjoy the fact that I seem to live by way of a series of evolving addictions, I consciously do my part to become subsumed by whatever I’m trending. So after a friend let me borrow her copy, I subscribed to Runner’s World magazine … I joined a group on campus that runs to raise money for education (you should sponsor me in the moonlight run)… and I signed up to run a couple of 10k’s and a half-marathon. In 2011, I will run a full marathon (26 miles, 42 kilometers). It will be awesome.
Tips for the Long Run:
Playlists- choose music that makes you want to get up and dance (I started singing out loud during my run today… yes, it was weird… but belting GreenDay rocked)
Audiobooks – listen to a book on tape to get a good dose of fiction, to get lost in a story and forget about counting the minutes
Itunes U – download lectures from various universities for free, and start learning about something, you’d otherwise be too busy for.
Route – the more scenic the better: if not forests, if not beaches, house-scope in the suburbs, people-watch in the cities...
Say hi – you may be lost in your headspace, but even when you move through the world at pace, a friendly hello to a random on the street or a fellow runner breaks smiles.
God I hate running. I am so jealous of running types. I wish I could do it, I really wish I could. I can't believe you can run 8 miles effortlessly. I am so jealous. My god I hate running. I'll try and run today in the forest near my house, just because of this insiprational blog. Maybe like ten minutes and one mile.
ReplyDeleteI hate running too, but there's an energy in your posts that I crave. They are empowering. You make the impossible feel not only possible, but necessary. I think that this is the first time I've ever thought "running can't be *that* bad, can it?" Well done.
ReplyDeleteReading Runner's World magazine, I started taking all these little pieces of advice on running form, which really made a lot of difference. Breathing a certain way helps you control your breath (and not feel out of breath quickly). How you distribute your weight when you run changes how you feel your body, and of course there's the mind (which is more inclined to be tired and over it, even if the body can keep going). And i must say, the elliptical machine was like the training wheels to get me ready for the treadmill and eventually the outside. I don't even run fast or anything like that! But i've still decided I'm a runner, and who can say otherwise, right? if i run, i run, slow, fast, whatever. i run.
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