- Photo by Sean Venn
I’m not a runner. I never have been. Just the thought of running makes me want to fall in a wheezing, asthmatic heap. Recently, though, I’ve been thinking about taking up running.
Running has always been a very romantic idea to me. A solitary sport, one can spend time with one’s own thoughts – perfect for someone who has a constant philosophical debate going on in their head.
Biologically speaking, humans are meant to run. We are built to run from danger and to find food, neither of which we generally need to do in our techno-society. It’s a wonderfully healthy way to keep in shape. The runners I know are some of the healthiest people I know.
On another level, though, there seems to be some psychological benefit to running. Runners are in tune with their bodies. In being so, they tend to have healthy self-body images, of which I am sorely lacking.
So here I am – afraid of wheezing to my death on the side of the road and yet understanding that this is probably something I need to do – for both my physical and psychological well being. Small steps to a better me.
living peacefully with children 
I’ve been running for 5 years now because of this post and the follow-ups she has written over time. It is a place to start if you are curious… http://doctormama.blogspot.com/2006/05/listen-up-maggots.html
Thank you. I enjoyed reading that post. I plan to take it easy. I just need to get started.
I highly recommend reading the book spark by john ratey. It goes a lot into how exercise affects one psychologically. I love running. Good for you.
Hello!
I saw your post and thought I needed to comment. I was never a runner, not even a walker, but I’ve been training for the Houston Half Marathon for the last 3 months and I love it!, just as the other reader said, take it easy and if possible, involve your family.
I train Tue and Thu with a runners club and my 3 years old son started running with me and if he gets tired, my husband is ready with the stroller (he used to run with him in arms, but it became too hard), so the three of us are on the track having a good time, my son is already the mascot of my running club 🙂
On Saturdays I train with Team in Training, where besides running I prepare and learn to raise funds for the cure of the leukemia with the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. One of my brothers have been battling this cancer for almost 2 years and I thought it was about time I do something about it. For me is a win-win situation, 3 months on the track and I’ve been only received blessings and love 🙂
Good luck!!
Elena
I really love your post, because it speaks to the process I went through when deciding to start running (and expecting to loathe it). I have always been terrible at running. In gym class, I always brought up the rear and everyone was always concerned that I was maybe having a coronary.
I started Couch-to-5K, which is a very gentle 9-week program to get you up to running half an hour straight, which seemed like a huuuge goal to me, but I figured I’d start out with the baby steps as they unfolded. The beginning workouts are a combination of walking and jogging, mostly walking to start. At first, all my fears were confirmed. I couldn’t make it through half the first workout without collapsing in a sweaty, lung-heaving heap.
I went online and found out: Go slower, doofus. Like, shuffling speed. So I did that. And what do you know? Now I can run (shuffle) 30 minutes straight. No one else would think that’s impressive, but I sure have been impressed with myself!
Here’s my (unsponsored) Couch-to-5K review if you’re interested: http://www.hobomamareviews.com/2010/10/couch-to-5k-running-plan-for-beginning.html I especially like the free phone app you can get that times the runs for you.
What I like about running (and I never thought I’d say a sentence that began that way!) is the philosophizing you talk about. I’m alone with my thoughts, and it all feels very one-foot-in-front-of-the-other meditative.