A Love Affair Called Running

What does one do when one fails to stick to his resolution? Fall into despair? Heave out a sigh and accept that it can never be done? Or realize his own weakness, pick up the pieces and try again?

I have shamefully succumbed and gave in to sloth. And because much of what I write comes from the inspiration I get from running, I have also ceased to drop a line on my blogsite. That is how bad my state of affairs has become with my running program. And when I finally got the grace to pick up my running shoes and hit the track, I found myself totally out of form. I was back to square one. Sadly, all the milestones I have achieved these past few months have been buried and needed a lot of unearthing. After my pathetic run after an hour, I ended my work out feeling so tired and drained and regretful that I have allowed myself to fall back this far.

That night my body gave in to fatigue and my immune system gave way to respiratory illness. I have learned an important lesson. The body can be your strongest friend or foe in this love affair called running. You must be consistent in your courtship to maintain the interest, the fervor, the vigor. The moment you falter and distance yourself from the exercise, the body will be very quick in forgetting about all your initial efforts. As a beginner, the period of courtship between running and the body is very fragile. Consistency is imperative. But if you find true love in running, you will go back. Ask for absolution and suffer the consequences and try again. Let the body be wooed once more. It is only in consistency and the assurance of fidelity to the program will the body once again give in. With love rekindled, the beginner will be transformed. He will learn that for this love to end in marriage... in complete union where the body finds utter joy and fulfillment in being able to perform the exercise called running, commitment is needed. This means standing up after every fall. For in every relationship that is good, forgiveness is easily extended. Thus is the love affair of running.

Discipline and Running

My body prevailed. I failed to run today. But it was not because of the friction between my blisters and my new shoes. It was simply because of lack of discipline. I failed to discipline myself to take the needed rest while on training. I did not wake up to the sound of the alarm clock because I did not sleep early. I broke the one rule of training which is adequate sleep and rest. It is a must that as one increases distance or speed of training, one also adjusts the hours of sleep. I still have to find my right formula. With the responsibilities of family and work, it is a great challenge to squeeze in training as well. But I will adhere to my goal of keeping a healthy balance of nourishment for my body by running regularly, my mind by reading regularly and my soul by praying regularly. And I must not forget that my body also need rest, sleep and balanced diet for nourishment. This way I can say that I have been a good steward of me.

The Neurosis of Running

Running using the podrunner program of 150 bpm made me realize I preferred to switch back to the interval training once again. Somehow, the variety adds more spice to my running. Though I am somewhat of the obsessive-compulsive type, wanting predictability in my run therefore preferring to run in the same route over and over again, another part of me also gets easily bored with routine. That is the kind of neurosis that running has unearthed from me. A lot more is emerging.

Halfway through my one-hour slow run this morning, I began to feel the pain behind my ankles again. My new shoes still needs a lot of breaking in. I got blisters on the same spot just two days before. The other time, I failed to lace one hole at the topmost part and this caused the rubbing of the shoe on my skin. Now, I think I really need to buy the ankle protector until this part of the shoe gets softer.

I struggled with the stinging sensation on my feet and the desire to run. I endured it to the end. I recalled how author-runners relate their own experience of masochistic tendencies which they claim is common to all runners. I guess that's the kind of neurosis that a lot could identify with. Though I sighed a lot of times and missed my old Nike free shoes, I vowed I will not stop running with these new shoes until these bend and mold to the condition that I desire. This tug of war of some sort has become fairly common to me. I had this tug-of-war before with myself, pushing my body to do what it does not want to do. I just do not know if my shoe is as obedient as my body. One hour and 8 km after, I limped my way back to my car. My double band-aid, already half-stripped as well as the skin it used to protect, exposing the nasty fresh wound. No skirts and exposure of ankles for now, I suppose. Even my vanity is suppressed with this exercise. Tomorrow I will try running with a much adherent band-aid. My husband warned me that the skin may darken and thicken from the constant trauma. Should that deter me from running tomorrow? Let's see which part of me will win the battle.

Building Up for Endurance

For me, the holiday is over. I need to get back in shape, not that I have totally lost it. Just a 3-pound gain which I can easily lose. The holidays gave me a lot of excuses to miss running three times a week. But today, I have decided to break in my new shoes... a Christmas gift from my husband. Yeey!

I looked at the sky and smiled. It was casted with thick clouds. Getting back to the stadium gave me a sense of coming home. There were the usual morning runners occupying the tracks. The air was cool and the occasional blowing of the wind brought a refreshing touch to my face. Wearing my new Nike plus zoom with the nike i-pod+ sensor neatly tucked in my left shoe, I began to run and pray.

I have just finished Haruku Murakami's book and a new resolution has evolved. Running has brought me a clearer perspective of my life and where God is leading me and my family. When you run in circles in a track filled with strangers with only your i-pod as your companion and you do that for an hour, you are left with nothing but your thoughts. Most of the time, these thoughts would also desert you, bored with what you are doing and you are left with nothing in your mind. The blankness and the silence is just the perfect environment that awakens the spirit within. Then you hear the Voice that whispers so softly. Then you realize why there are some runners who prefer to do long-distance running.

After an hour of running slowly on the track, I pushed 'work out completed' in my i-pod and shifted to walking. Covering a distance of 7.96km, I have awakened my slackened body to embrace the 2009 training I have set out for it to do. For week 1 of January, I need to cover 26-km broken down as follows, at least 6-km done 3x a week for Build Up and one LSD of 9k for endurance. My ultimate weekly distance target for base training is 33-km per week which I hope to achieve sometime in April.

The basis is the recommended training program for a beginner who wish to run a half-marathon and this is to run a total distance of 20-30 miles per week (32.2 - 48.3 km/ week), with a frequency of 3-4x a week for base training. From my previous weekly distance of 15-20km/week, I am building up my mileage to that of the target. This build up should be done gradually, following the rule of not greater than 2 miles/ week (3.2 km per week) or 10% of current distance whichever is greater. Every forth week, I also incorporated an Easy Week which is equivalent to 75% of the current distance being ran.

This slow build up is done in order to teach my bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons to strengthen and adapt to the distance. This build up is a sense of programming so that normal adaptation occurs and the body does not succumb to injury. Training requires a lot of patience, consistency and discipline. There is no shortcut to my half-marathon. Cramming will not work.

I ended my morning work-out with a prayer: Lord, help me to carry my crosses daily but let it be the cross that you give me and not crosses I make for myself, for Your yoke is easy and Your burden light. May I go about my business doing things Your way because Your ways are not my ways. Your ways are better than mine.

Then I hear His voice ever so faint:

"I have plans for you... plans to prosper and bless you and not harm you. Because I have come so that you may have life and have it abundantly."

My spirit expanded. A new year is ahead of me, filled with hope and so much promise. I went home to a new book waiting for its pages to be devoured... Running and Philosophy - a marathon for the mind, edited by Michael W. Austin. This is a promising companion for my build up to base training. As I discipline my body, so will I discipline my mind and soul and feed it with healthy stuff as well.