My relationship with running started in June of 2020.
I had always hated the idea of running. Everyone who runs seems pretty unhappy while they are doing it. Odds are if you wave at a runner, they will not wave back. This was a big scary thing I had intended to never do. Then things changed, and then I changed. The first change was the pandemic and I was stuck having to get to know myself. The other big change was a heart scan which suggested I had better make some radical life changes. I needed to improve my life and an appropriate way to do this was to do something I was fearful of, running.
My biggest obstacle was poor physical condition and being flatfooted. I spent a year increasing my walking distance. I walked almost every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, humid or snowing. When walking, I paid particular attention to my foot strike and worked on exercises that would improve my overall foot health. I was motivated by not wanting to get running injuries, so I was willing to play the long game on this.
I did a fair amount of reading on running. This wasn’t intended to be a reading instead of doing moment, but the people behind these books were fascinating. They ultimately inspired me and have been very influential in how I think about running in my own life.
- Finding Ultra by Rich Roll
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
I introduced less support in my shoes and finally found a low-support running shoe that I pulled into my walking routine. I flirted with the couch to 5k apps and running plans. After several months of building my running capacity, I was able to run a contiguous span without stopping to walk. Starting in September of 2021 I was finally running. Over the next few years, I would build up my miles and frequency per week.
Almost two years later, I find running to be a part of my physical and mental health. If I go more than a few days without running, I get antsy and agitated. I don’t believe I have gone far or long enough to experience a runner’s high, but the sense of achievement I feel from running is what motivates me and keeps me going. Going from something I would never do to something that provides me with a sense of purpose has been unpredictable.