The beginning

As a young person, I always thought running was too difficult, too hard on the body, best left for others. When I turned 32, I finally decided to give it a try. I was living in San Francisco, a beautiful environment for running, with great year-round weather.

The first time I went running was quite funny. I kept it up for maybe 20 minutes. It took so much out of me that I slept like a dead man that night. The next day, muscles in weird places were hurting. My neck and my abs were killing me. My core was not used to keeping my head and torso stabilized while bouncing on asphalt. My internal organs weren’t used to the pounding. I waited several days before I felt good enough to do it again. Gradually my body toughened up.

The benefits of running

It’s fun. Ever notice what kids do when they are excited? They run! Running simply makes you feel good. Full disclosure: some runs are downright unpleasant, but it always feels good after a run. There have been times when the light is just right, the air is fair, and my body feels great. Everything is just sublime at that moment. You can’t bottle it up, but you hope to feel it again on the next run.

It is healthy for you. Along with adopting a vegetarian diet, regular running helped me lose weight. Running has kept me in shape for other activities, like hiking, backpacking, and kayaking. A stronger cardiovascular system also has helped me control high blood pressure.

It makes you mentally strong. This is the most powerful gift of running. Running is a mental challenge above all else. Sometimes a run just is not optimal. Perhaps your lungs are burning, you slept poorly last night, you have side stitches, or tired muscles. Managing those issues and resisting the urge to stop develops mental toughness. Maybe you slow down and catch your breath, recite a mantra in your mind, or focus on the scenery around you. One time I ran past a stick in the mud and wondered how long it had been there. I kept picturing it and telling my will to be immovable like that stick. If you can keep your feet going through a tough run, you can handle almost anything.

Should you try running?

That is a rhetorical question. The answer is YES. No, you don’t need to start training for a half marathon. Just run as much as you feel like. Next time, do a little bit more. And look, you’re now a runner! Don’t worry about speed, minutes per mile, target heart rate, or whatever. All the serious stuff will come in time… or not. The important thing is to keep running and have fun. If you decide it’s not for you… hey, you gave it a try; there are other kinds of exercise you can do.

Other than walking, running is the easiest form of exercise you can do. Just put on a pair of sneakers, and venture out your front door. A membership to the running club costs $0. You don’t need gadgets or designer clothes. I used to buy only a certain brand of shoes, and replace them after a certain number of miles. It seems wasteful now. These days, I just buy shoes that are comfortable and run them until the soles wear out.

Dealing with injury

The most I have ever logged was 10 miles a week. You can see I’m rather a lazy runner. Maybe that is why I have been able to keep it up for 20 years. Even so, I have dealt with injuries. You put so much effort into building strength and stamina, and then your body starts hurting. You wonder, if I take time off, how much will I lose? Am I going to lose months of progress? In my experience, you lose less than you think you would when you take time to rest. Once your body is pain free, it takes hardly any time to pick up where you left off. Looking at the long term, a few weeks off is nothing. Giving your body time to heal is much better than risking a career-ending injury.

For the last few years, I have been dealing with tendinitis in both heels. You can see the swelling where my achilles tendon attaches to my heel. It has been so bad that I could barely walk, resulting in a couple of months off. For the last two years, I only ran on dirt trails to rehab this injury. I’m finally able to run on pavement now, but I’m one stumble away from going back to square one.

The future

Will I make it to 30 years? Probably not. At some point, the injuries will impact other activities I enjoy, and I will have to hang it up. Running with my wife is something we started at the very beginning of our relationship, and it’s still something I treasure. All we have in life is to look forward to the next time. The benefits of running reach far and wide in my life, so I’m going to keep doing it for as long as I can.