My Running Basics

ORN: 4.07 miles in 45:03. Today I ran along the river walk again. It was nice. Even though it was lightly snowing, breezy, and 30°, it was a pleasant enough day for a run. I felt heavy and my legs tight. I might not have fully recovered from Saturday's long run. I'm taking tomorrow off, so perhaps that will help.

The good people over at The Runners' Lounge proposed a little writing experiment, and I have decided to participate. Every once in a while, they are going to propose a topic, and their writing community [in which I'm a member] will tap away on that topic. They will aggregate all the posts, and everybody gets a cookie, or something. Anyway, the topic this time around is "Basics of Running."

For me, there are a few fundamentals upon which I build my running life. They are pretty simple, being fundamentals, and since I have no higher ambitions than to finish the races I start, they don't aim very high. But on the whole, these next few statements are what keep me on the road.

1. The body strengthens faster than the mind. This is the first thing because it is the most important. What this means is that what keeps me from running farther or faster is seldom physical weakness. It's almost always my mind, my self-doubt, my aversion to discomfort, my fear. My body, with its base of miles behind it, can handle most everything I can dish out. When I overcome my fear, I can run as far and as fast as I dare. Marathons, ultras, you name it -- my body can handle it; my mind is my only hindrance.
   
2. Consistency is the key to running happiness. There are days when I cannot see 10 - 15 minutes into which I can squeeze a run, and then there are stretches of days and weeks when I will fall out of the habit altogether. If I can just manage to get out there and run just five, ten, fifteen minutes, whatever I can manage, then I would realize several benefits. First, I would not feel like a loser for missing a run. Second, I would get something accomplished. Third, I wouldn't lose any fitness. Gaining a little is better than gaining nothing -- or losing.
   
3. Self-forgiveness is as important as anything else to running. I'm going to slack off and miss runs. I'm going to be lazy and whiny. There will be days when I just don't feel like pushing myself out the door, or once out, pushing myself on the road. I cannot let those setbacks keep me down. I'm a depressed person, and it doesn't take much to knock me on my butt. But I must remember that each run, each day is a discrete opportunity. Either I seize it or I don't. Either way I need to acknowledge what happened, for better or worse, and move on. Tomorrow is another day.
4. It is only me out there running. Sure, my family is affected when I accidentally wake them Saturday morning when I slip out for my long run or when my weekend morning is overtaken by a race. But what I mean here is that if I run, only I benefit; if I don't, only I suffer. If I push hard, only I get stronger; if I slack off, only I stagnate or weaken. Nobody else is bothered whatsoever. I'm not hurting or getting back at anyone by slacking off. However, perhaps -- just maybe -- somebody is inspired when I run [e.g., my daughter, by the example I set.]
   

And so these few principles keep me running, keep me from feeling like a total loser, and keep me committed. What are yours?