The Sanity of Running
A lot of people who haven't seen me in a while notice my weight loss and
ask me how I did it. I tell them about how I get up early and run every
morning and eat a lot healthier, at least during the week. ;- ) Almost
inevitably they reply that they could never get up that early to exercise
and can't fit it in anywhere else in their schedules.
I am not a morning person either. If I am honest, I prefer sleeping in a
warm bed to running out in the cold any day. I have noticed, however, that
with my persistent efforts, it really has become easier for me to
accomplish the goals I have set for myself. In addition, my continued
efforts at running - increasing my miles - increasing my pace - has helped me
to increase my ability to run.
Many of you may have heard the ol' definition of insanity as "doing the same
thing over and over but expecting a different result" . I don't know how
exactly but after I completed my run this morning, it hit me how running is
a lot like the reverse of that truth. In fact, it brings to remembrance a
quote I've heard, "That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to
do; not that the nature of the thing itself has decreased; but out power to
do it has increased".
Therein lies the Sanity of Running . By doing something with increasing
effort over and over again, it becomes easier. It becomes habit. While to
some, getting out of bed at 5 am may seem pretty insane, I feel pretty
insane if I don't so it each day.
I can't really imagine running 26.2 miles at one time! The longest I have
ever run is the 8.5 miles I did last Saturday. Yet, I can still remember
when a 4-miler was my long run. I completed a 4-miler as my easy run this
morning. :-) So I will keep treading on, continuing my sanity of running,
looking forward to the day when marathon miles actually seem in reach!
posted by Shane (mississip) at 3:59 PM
3 Comments:
No, you're insane to get up at five AM. It's just that it's a sort of insane that yields good results. Kind of like Mark Twain's use of some of the kinetic energy expended by folks in his book A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - just makes usefulness out of insanity.
Hey, keep at it, Bro. Maybe eventually I'll feel guilty enough to try something myself. I did run to the refrigerator tonight to get a doughnut before the TV show came back on. It's a start.
Rick
8:56 PM
I am too part of the 5'O clock club. It definitely is pretty hard when you first start trying to wake up that time and not all the time do I feel like I can... but now, I am getting up at 4:50, in time for my alarm and a fe snoozes! I can get a lot done during this time... it's like having extra hours in the day!
It's not that the can't fit exercising in their schedule, it's not as important and they are choosing to not make it priority. You obviously made a lifestyle change that has made running an important part of your life. Even if you had just gotten up 30 minutes earlier than normal and done yoga or something, that would be a great advancement in overall health.
I can remember when I broke 7 miles! it was CRAZY! and I had been running for over a year before I did it. Be careful about wanting to do a marathon, they can be addictive!
What most of us find during a marathon, we see a run of 4 miles, as only 4 miles, almost not even worth running it... then after a while after completing the marathon, 4 miles becomes difficult again and we wonder how could that be!
7:39 AM
RICK,
You keep donuts in the frig and you call me insane?
6:20 PM
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