Running
18 October, 2024
I’ve never liked running. That’s as true now as when I was young, in the days in which my body was less beaten up by the years and the mileage I’ve accumulated over the decades.
The last time I did any serious (and it would be a stretch to call what I was doing serious) running was when I was around 16. At that time, I decided running wasn’t for me and chose to get my cardio workouts by riding my bike, swimming, and doing combat sports.
Flash forward to June, 2024. My wife and daughter began a program called Couch to 5K, created by the NHS in Britain. The goal: in the space of nine weeks take someone who’s never run before and build them up to running for 30 minutes, non stop. Since my wife and daughter were doing it, I had to do it. You know how that sort of thing goes …
A couple of months back, I crossed the nine-week line and can now run 30 (actually, more than 30) minutes in a single go. Which isn’t too bad for a broken down adult male of my particular vintage. That’s far longer than I could run when I was in my teens.
I still dislike running. It’s boring. It’s tedious. It’s monotonous. But running also offers me some solitude. While running, I can retreat into myself while pounding various pavements. I can think. I can woolgather. I can, for a short time, go fallow.
I don’t view running as a form of moving meditation, but it does offer a short interval of mental escape from the pressures and problems of the day. Running is a slightly different way of using my body from what I’m used to. And since I only run three times a week, I’m willing to put up with the tedium and monotony of the activity.