Running

Running is magical. Three words I thought I would never say but here we are. When I started running in 2017, I had never run more than two miles in my life. I knew I wanted to start an exercise routine that was good for my body, but also helped manage my anxiety, and running seemed like a solid solution. It didn’t require any equipment or gym memberships and I could do it on my own time. At the time, I didn’t have much free time to give to group exercise, or rather I didn’t give myself much free time. But I knew that it would be guaranteed alone time, and my introverted self loves nothing more that mandatory alone time. If love languages are a real thing, mine is alone time. And chocolate.

I never understood the running thing until I did. I get that whole endorphin boost runner’s high thing and it’s just fun. And as someone who is extremely competitive with herself, it’s a slightly obsessive joy to watch my pace get better and my heart rate go down over time. I’m still not clear on the concept of running races, mostly because that means I have to do the thing I do for alone time in a giant group of people, so it kind of defeats the purpose. But six days a week now, there is so much joy that comes from lacing up my shoes and going out for a run.

I think what draws me to keep going is that there is a lot of peace in the consistency of doing it almost every day. No matter what else is going on in my house or in the world, I can walk out my front door and run a few miles. Guaranteed alone time. Guaranteed brain break. About halfway in, my head clears up a bit and I just feel better. Even on the days when I’m tired and especially on the days when I’m really pissed off or anxious, I start sweating and that feeling of freedom kicks in. The feeling that I’m in total control of how fast I move, which path I take that day, and how far I run. When you spend so much of your time managing everyone else’s schedules, making sure people get fed and have what they need when they need it, making decisions gets really annoying. But when those decisions are for me and me alone and no one weighs in on their opinions, that time is everything.

I don’t think I’m a fast runner and I’m never going to be someone who enjoys competing in races because the idea of turning something I do for therapy into a competition messes with my head. Now if you want to have an ice cream eating contest, prepare to have your butt kicked. Side note: I participated in and won a campus wide ice cream eating contest with three of my sorority sisters when I was in college. I think I still have the t-shirt upstairs in my closet.

Vermonster (click the link to see the deliciousness we demolished)

That’s my kind of competition. Ice cream and glory.

Back to running. I’m so glad I started doing it. I went from thinking I’d run 3 miles at a time here and there to doing a 5K in October 2018, a 10K in April 2019, and then a half marathon in October 2019. My goal now is to run a marathon once my daughter starts kindergarten. Marathon training is like having a part time job so it’s gonna have to wait until both kids are in full day school, but I’m really excited to do it one day. And it’s really cool to me that my body can continuously move for over 13 miles and still keep going. Super long distances aren’t my jam on the regular, but the sense of accomplishment I get when I go far is pretty awesome.

Side note #2: the clothes are cute. Sometimes the shoes are cute, but the clothes are always cute. I’m not saying my purple shorts and rainbow shoes are the reason I run, but they certainly don’t make it harder. Although if you see me (or anyone really) running, please do not honk or yell or whatever. I startle easily, dude. Keep that to yourself.

Oh, I almost forgot. Music and podcasts. Another reason to love running. I memorized the Hamilton soundtrack while running. My rap to “Guns and Ships” is a major point of pride. I’ve listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts at this point, some informative, most funny, and some completely random and ridiculous and wonderful. If you are someone that loves music, running is an excellent excuse to zone on to your favorites. Making a solid running playlist of what I consider the best of the mid to late 90s was pure quarantine joy. Finding yourself belting out K-Ci and JoJo and Brandy in front of random strangers is also pretty great. They think I’ve lost my brain or they don’t really care, but either way, nobody messes with the girl practically screaming “All My Life” as she runs by.

I think I’ve rambled on about my love of running long enough. Now I want to hear what you think. What is an exercise that helps you manage anxiety or reduce stress? What ice cream flavor would you want if you were in an ice cream eating contest? Both questions are equally important and I’m excited to hear what you say! Happy Wednesday!