Origins of a Happy and Healthy Runner: It Starts With A Running Plan
Dear A & H…Time to talk about my first love. Yeah, I know, maybe a bit weird, being they seem so different. But it works, though, and never boring (at least to me). ت
It’s Dreamy…Really 🙂
Imagine describing your dream sport, exactly how it looks and feels as you experience it, to someone new to it.
Would it look something like this?
First off, it’s a semi-sensory deprivation experience. Not sometimes but most of the time. Seeing is limited to, maybe, 10 feet. But, that’s of little concern because of the need to make it from A to B as quickly as you can. So, whether you can or can’t see, it doesn’t matter. Your success depends on your preparedness and your ability to be a little more fearless than your competition. Also worth mentioning is not being able to use sound for guidance. Hearing is even more useless than seeing because, except for an occasional word or two that might make your ears, all sound is really white noise.
Being deprived of senses like this might be alarming, but it pales compared to limitations placed on bodily functions, in this case, breathing. In spite of this, it’s a welcome challenge as athlete attempts balancing vital bodily needs with competitive goals. The math behind this dilemma is straightforward, breathe too much, performance suffers. Breathe too little or haphazardly, performance likewise suffers.
Of course, there’s more, making it that much more appealing. 🙂
Attention to form is equally important. Because, without the ongoing pursuit of good technique, breathing and performance suffers. Everything goes hand in hand. Neglect one, the other two can’t pick up the slack. They all need to work hand in hand.
So, when all is said and done, knowing only this, would this description have anyone say, ‘Hey, sign me up. I want to do that. Sounds perfect.”
Hopefully, yes, there’s much gained when stepping outside comfort zones and being a little fearless.
But, truthfully, the sport just described is nothing more than what it’s like being a competitive swimmer.
Embracing a New Passion
Though running is my #1 passion now, swimming easily fit into that spot when I was a teenager. Never missing a practice if I could help it, it truly was my addiction. I loved it with every cell of my being and, naturally, when it came to an end…
Fortunately, once a swimmer, always a swimmer.
Whenever I could, I would practice on my own, always reinforcing the lessons and methods I was taught each and every time I found myself in the water.
It’s no surprise, then, that the experience made an indelible mark on me. It did, still does and, though running is now my #1 passion, I approach all my runs no different than if I were a swimmer.
There is no other way to describe it, running is just upside down swimming to me.
Of course, if I had the same opportunity and time with a running coach, I might look through different eyes but, having run for almost three decades now with few injuries and intact enthusiasm, I don’t see a need to change what I’m doing.
It’s kind of like the idea conveyed in this video. Destin, of Smarter Every Day, was challenged to ride a bike that turned “backwards.” He didn’t really need to. Riding a bike that turned the normal way never left him wanting. But, he nevertheless decided to put in the time to master this new skill.
It took a while to master it, his brain needing time to adjust to the change, but a switch clicked one day and he was finally able to ride a new opposite turning bike. Interestingly, though, when he tried riding a normal bike again, well, that, weirdly, became nearly impossible.
So it goes (kinda) with my approach to running. Why mess up a good thing.
I swam, learned, thrived, and, for this reason, see no need for an overwrite. Like this gentleman, I enjoy challenges but, unlike him, I’ve decided to stick with my first “bike.” It does and continues to serve me well.
This is why I’m writing and sharing today. Not as a coach or an athlete with a lengthy resume, but just a fellow runner who is excited to share. Kind of like, “Hey, Jen, I just got back from vacation at ____ and you just have to go there! REALLY! You’re life will never be the same.”
The Contract (to building a better athlete)
It was never written down or spoken about directly, but as a member of our swim team, we never neglected a few important essentials.
These instructed each moment we were in the water which, in turn, helped build efficient and proficient athletic bodies.
These essentials?
Simply:
Breathing, form, pacing, and some passion.
For us to swim well and progress in our sport, we diligently tended to these, honoring an unspoken contract or plan, if you will, to never neglect their importance.
A Running Plan Founded on Breathing, Form, Pacing, and Passion
Since both swimming and running are aerobic sports, it’s understandable breathing is fundamental. Unfortunately, in the case of running, it’s not always taken as seriously as it should. Case in point, a google search will likely offer more information on devices or shoes that will enhance performance when, right in the center of our chests, the most important “piece of” equipment is with us every moment of the day.
Also, just because we do it over 17,000 times every day doesn’t mean we know how to do it properly or to our best advantage while running. It needs a little paying attention to.
How much?
At first, all the time until it’s an unconscious expert skill. 😳
Regarding form, well, it’s fundamental to performing well but, due to its dependence on so many variables (i.e. flexibility, strength, mechanics, shoes, etc.), it’s something a little more difficult nailing down.
Yet, it basically can be described as supporting or developing those bodily mechanisms that allow optional functioning, i.e. running, with the greatest efficiency.
This is easier said than done, however.
Our bodies were built to move yet, because of life’s automation and pursuit of comfort, progress can sometimes work to an athlete’s disadvantage.
As for pacing, it’s a natural offshoot of form. As form improves (i.e. efficiency), pacing responds in kind.
When it comes to passion (❤), the final item of the list, “feeling” can carry us but, to have the best experience possible, it’s important to never forget that passion can only be sustained with a practical plan. Coming full circle, it’s that unspoken contract we have with ourselves:
Never neglect working on breathing, form, and pacing because they are the kindle keeping the fires of passion lit.
What’s to Come
There’s much to explore here and it’s my intention to delve deeper into what all this looks like during a typical workout.
Before getting too far along, though, it’s important mentioning that it won’t be easy.
But, if it were anything but a little challenging, it probably wouldn’t be worth our time. It might even be *gasp* boring.
Take a look at this quote by Frank Sheed:
“One way to prevent conversation from being boring is to say the wrong thing.”
Maybe that’s why running is never boring to me, even after decades doing it. Using this quote as a template for my approach to training and racing, I guess I all comes down to looking through different eyes:
One way to prevent running from being boring is to see it the 'wrong way.'
See it as upside down swimming instead.
It works for me, maybe it will work for you.
It’s what I hope to explore in the coming weeks.
Stayed tuned…
Much love, O.M.
P.S. Have you found this post helpful? If “Yes!,” please consider sharing, loving your body with a few miles today, and signing up for notice of new content. Thank you!
P.P.S. No spam ever. Staying away from processed is a healthy thing to do. 🙂
