By MaryBeth Moore
When running becomes satisfaction...
That sounds like an impossible achievement for so many runners (especially beginners).
But to some, being able to say/and believe that ‘statement,’ is right front of them...and they just haven't found it yet.
So how do you find it?
Is it in the temple of 'holy run gods' that you must spend a lifetime in
search for? Or is it within your innermost realm of acceptance in what you
can achieve and be capable of understanding what's good enough to be
content with?
Those are questions only you can answer. And only you can solve the equation or find the X on the map leading to that 'holy run god temple.'
Or maybe it’s simply just something you have to accept? Because once you do, running will become satisfaction.
Here are some of my personal tips. After struggling with my fair share of bad days for 16-years, I guess you can say I am a reliable source:
First off, try doing one enjoyable run a week (or what some call, CHI run). This is a mid-distance run that should be non-goal oriented. Just a chill-out and enjoy type of run. Run along your favorite path and enjoy running and being out there for just the heck-of-it.
No particular order (but I’d try them all):
GO ‘ELECTRONICLESS’: NO Crackberry, no iPhone and no iPod. Relax and listen to yourself and enjoy the peace.
GO ‘FITNRESSTRACKERLESS’: NO Garmin, no heart rate monitor. Run to run. Don’t run for a certain pace and for a certain zone. You know what it feels like to run easy. If you didn’t, you’d be in the hospital by now.
DON’T ‘SPAZZ-O-RAMA’: DON’T ALWAYS expect to run a loop around Central Park (or your local loop) in under a certain time frame, consistently. You’re setting yourself up for Type-A punishment this way. Just enjoy the run. Shouldn’t you be happy you can run in the first place?
WHO CARES: Run for you, not for anyone else. 11-minute miler? Does anyone time you? NO! If you’re like me and tend to get annoyed by other runners passing you (or those guys that hate to get chicked by girls that speed up when you’re about to pass), then go run somewhere else that’s a little more peaceful. Problem solved.
CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS: Thinking about how fast you’re going or how many miles you have left? STOP! Thinking about work or anything that needs therapy? LET IT HAPPEN AND LET THE THOUGHTS WANDER. Don’t think about the run. Think about what needs therapy. That’s the best part of running, the therapy that comes with it. Let your mind become a kaleidoscope.
DON’T BOOGIE TO THE BEAT: Boogie to your breath! LEAVE the music at home! Listen to the way you breathe and to your body language. You should not be totally out of breath. You should be able to hold a conversation. If you’re out of breath, slow down and relax.
DON’T GO TWO STEPS FORWARD WITHOUT ONE STEP BACK: As in, don’t tense up and sprint out. Chill out. Try going even stepped. As in, hold yourself back from going too many steps forward. If your shoulders are up high and you feel tense, shake the shoulders and chill. Take two steps back to remind yourself of this.
~~~
Always remember, we all have our days. “I feel fat and slow;” or “I can’t run a mile without being tired;” or “I feel out of shape and I am in the middle of marathon training” are just feelings, mental games or simply what you ate for lunch, or didn’t eat (Yes, some of us don’t fuel enough throughout the day for our evening runs. Try shooting up a ‘energy-gel’ with a full glass of water, 10-minutes before your run, if the run is longer than 30-minutes).
Just remember that those are just days, and you will have an amazing run sooner than you think.
That’s why we run isn’t it?
Because running, is and will be, satisfaction!
Once you get to a point where running is “satisfaction” you don’t want to stop.
Sometimes you have to remind yourself to breathe.
And sometimes…sometimes you have to wake yourself up. –MaryBeth Moore
