My adventures in running...
""Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction." - William James
That is one of my favourite quotes and I believe it to be so very true. Think back to your last run. You start out strong, pacing yourself but at the same time pushing just a bit harder than last time. There is always a spot in your run when you feel really tired. You are breathing heavy and you really have to start focusing on your form to keep your feet from slamming the ground. For me that spot is around the 5k mark where there is a big up-hill on a gravel road. Miraculously when I reach the end of the road and round the curve I explode onto the new path and I feel amazing. I still have another 3-5 km's ahead of me depending on how much time I have to train that day but it doesn't matter. It is an amazing feeling to push through that sticky spot and keep going. Now I don't think my measly little 10 km run qualifies as the 'very extreme of fatigue and distress' but that quote is what pushes me to try a little harder each time.
I haven't always been a runner. In elementary school I joined the cross country track team and soon realized that I hated running. I had zero endurance and couldn't understand why anyone would want to make their lungs feel like they were on fire. I was great at short distances. I rocked the 100 and 200 meter dash but the 400 meter seemed like a half marathon to my skinny little legs and princess lungs.
Skip ahead to about 4 years ago and our little family decides to get a new dog. A friend told us that a stray dog wandered onto her acreage with no tags or tattoos and no apparent owner. She tried to find the owner, made the proper phone calls, but no luck. So that is how Koda came into our life. He's not just a dog, he is a freight train of pure energy. In order to keep him from mowing down visitors and destroying our home we need to exercise him daily. A walk doesn't cut it, that is just way too slow for him. So I started running out of necessity. Up until spring of this year when people asked me if I was a runner I would say 'No, I don't like running.' I did it because I had to but I didn't enjoy it so I didn't feel I could honestly say I was a runner. That was before I discovered barefoot running. I could go on forever about the benefits of running barefoot but I have rambled on for awhile now and that is for another blog, another day. I will say though that since I started running barefoot I no longer have issues with fasciitis and my knees don't hurt from running. I love running. There is something so wonderful about getting out on a trail with Koda beside me and if it is raining or lightly snowing that is even better. I finish our runs feeling refreshed and stress free.
In September, a friend recommended that I read the book 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. If you haven't yet read the book and you run or would like to start, I highly recommend it. I couldn't put it down and yet at the same time was inspired to go out and just run for the sheer bliss of it. I was so torn between putting the book down and going for a run and reading just one more page. Christopher McDougall explains the benefits of running and running barefoot much better than I ever could. I will put a link at the bottom so you can check it out if you are interested.
So much for keeping it short for today but once I start talking about running it's hard to get me to stop.
Happy trails!
That is one of my favourite quotes and I believe it to be so very true. Think back to your last run. You start out strong, pacing yourself but at the same time pushing just a bit harder than last time. There is always a spot in your run when you feel really tired. You are breathing heavy and you really have to start focusing on your form to keep your feet from slamming the ground. For me that spot is around the 5k mark where there is a big up-hill on a gravel road. Miraculously when I reach the end of the road and round the curve I explode onto the new path and I feel amazing. I still have another 3-5 km's ahead of me depending on how much time I have to train that day but it doesn't matter. It is an amazing feeling to push through that sticky spot and keep going. Now I don't think my measly little 10 km run qualifies as the 'very extreme of fatigue and distress' but that quote is what pushes me to try a little harder each time.
I haven't always been a runner. In elementary school I joined the cross country track team and soon realized that I hated running. I had zero endurance and couldn't understand why anyone would want to make their lungs feel like they were on fire. I was great at short distances. I rocked the 100 and 200 meter dash but the 400 meter seemed like a half marathon to my skinny little legs and princess lungs.
Skip ahead to about 4 years ago and our little family decides to get a new dog. A friend told us that a stray dog wandered onto her acreage with no tags or tattoos and no apparent owner. She tried to find the owner, made the proper phone calls, but no luck. So that is how Koda came into our life. He's not just a dog, he is a freight train of pure energy. In order to keep him from mowing down visitors and destroying our home we need to exercise him daily. A walk doesn't cut it, that is just way too slow for him. So I started running out of necessity. Up until spring of this year when people asked me if I was a runner I would say 'No, I don't like running.' I did it because I had to but I didn't enjoy it so I didn't feel I could honestly say I was a runner. That was before I discovered barefoot running. I could go on forever about the benefits of running barefoot but I have rambled on for awhile now and that is for another blog, another day. I will say though that since I started running barefoot I no longer have issues with fasciitis and my knees don't hurt from running. I love running. There is something so wonderful about getting out on a trail with Koda beside me and if it is raining or lightly snowing that is even better. I finish our runs feeling refreshed and stress free.
In September, a friend recommended that I read the book 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. If you haven't yet read the book and you run or would like to start, I highly recommend it. I couldn't put it down and yet at the same time was inspired to go out and just run for the sheer bliss of it. I was so torn between putting the book down and going for a run and reading just one more page. Christopher McDougall explains the benefits of running and running barefoot much better than I ever could. I will put a link at the bottom so you can check it out if you are interested.
So much for keeping it short for today but once I start talking about running it's hard to get me to stop.
Happy trails!
Comments
Post a Comment