It's been said that love doesn't come easy.
Let's be honest... that's not only true with life in general, but it's especially true with running (at least in my experience).Thankfully, there have been far more good times than bad, and there have been many lessons learned along the way.
Would you care to hear a few of the "tough love" things I've learned about running? Read on...
In no particular order -
Running is gonna hurt. There's going to be some aches and pains along the way. You may see your first black toenail (and you also may lose that toenail as well!). You will probably get injured (more than once). And, it's a given you will play host to the DOMS (repeatedly). Bearing all these discomforts will teach you that setbacks happen, though, and you will feel euphorically empowered overcoming them.
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| stress fracture, August 2020 |
Running is probably gonna make you cry. There will be countless tough runs, when your body simply cannot take one more step. Ugly races will happen, where the weather taunts you, the hills defeat you, and your legs refuse to move at the pace you've trained them to do. You will also have finish times that will leave you feeling depleted and devastated. All of these experiences, though, will build your mental game, and teach you to persevere. Ultimately, you will learn that your attitude is completely in your control.
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| hot, sweaty, and all out of water...but still smiling |
Running is gonna make you work for every victory. You will do training runs, maybe even speed drills. You will learn how to fuel properly for long distance runs and races. Hopefully, you will learn to embrace cross-training. All of this "work" will teach you discipline.
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| strength for the win! |
Running is gonna be inconvenient at times. You may have to run early in the morning, before heading to your job. You may get caught in the rain, There will also be some days when it's outrageously hot or frigidly cold. Thus, you will learn to run in almost every kind of circumstance, which will prepare you for almost any kind of race day situation.
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| a glowing and glistening mess, LOL |
...and let's not forget the no-brainers:
The friendships!
The gear!
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| headlamp, lighted vest, Knuckle Lights, etc. |
The hardware!
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| DAM to DSM 2022 |
Alas, there are so many things to love about this thing called running. Some of these come much easier than others, but all of them make the sport worthwhile.
I'm linking this with Zenaida and Jenn for the TuesdayTopics Linkup.
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Ah yes, the lovely black toenail. That was not a fun experience! I love your list. My favorite is that running will make you work for every victory. I also love that it requires lifelong learning about the sport and about my own body. So much to love about running!
ReplyDeleteLifelong learning, indeed! I've been at it for almost 19 years, and it seems like I'm in a constant phase of learning (and re-learning).
DeleteIt is not all flowers and candy for sure! Running is hard and does hurt sometimes. That struggle makes us stronger!
ReplyDeleteI agree, the struggle makes us respect the sport so much more!!!
DeleteIf running weren't hard, it wouldn't be so rewarding. So many parts of our lives are set up to make us comfortable- it's good to have something like running that's hard- but so worth it!
ReplyDeleteI could not have said it better ;-) Everything is worthwhile if you have the persistence and discipline to stick with it.
DeleteThere can be many challenges to running, which is one of the reasons why it's so great! We need to work for it which makes us stronger, mentally and physically.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! And, a good thing (though also a challenging aspect) is that each of us has a unique journey...so there's no specific handbook to follow.
DeleteOh, the tears I have shed over running. It is hard and it does hurt. But weirdly, I never regret a second of it!
ReplyDeleteAll the struggles and tears lead us to a better respect of it!
DeleteWell said. There are many mixed emotions with running, but the best one is the feeling of happiness and gratitude.
ReplyDelete