[Tuesday: 3.4 miles; today: none yet]
I started jogging toward the end of my college years. I guess it would have been about 1984(?). And I have been at it more-or-less ever since. I suspect there have been a few weeks go by that I didn’t get out at least once. But not very many. I said “jogging” above because I am slow and have a body not really configured for speed (long torso, short legs, kind of stout).
My older brother was a runner before me. I have never run with him that I remember. But I think his example kind of opened me to the idea.
About 4 years ago my wife was challenged by someone to start a “couch to 5k” program, to run an upcoming 5k race. She did that. And then she went on to do 10k, half marathon, marathon and 50k races. She is really into running now, way beyond anything I ever did.
I did a few races with her at the beginning but now she is much more into racing than I am.
And our son has recently started to run quite a bit also.
He invited me over on Tuesday evening and we ran together around the North Farm at Mississippi State. There is a gravel road loop that makes 3.4 miles according to his Garmin GPS. He runs quite a bit faster than I do and he had to slow down to accommodate. I was running faster than my normal pace. We found a workable middle ground.
He has a half marathon scheduled for early 2016.
I don’t think there is anything magical about it. Running has both exercise and meditative benefits. If you run for an hour, that gives your mind a chance to unwind, you get exercise endorphins and you get muscle/skeletal development. Usually there’s an outdoors/fresh air aspect to it also.
There can be dangers, but they seem small compared to other activities with similar benefits. You can fall down, you can injure yourself through overuse or poor form (it is a repetitive activity), and you can get hit by a car or cyclist. There’s no water to drown in, like with swimming or rowing. There’s no parachute to fail or bicycle to crash. Concussion risks are low compared to interpersonal contact sports.
Every once in awhile someone will have a heart attack during a marathon or something. That is usually a surprise since people running a marathon have probably already run 10 times that much in training. There was even a nationally ranked runner who keeled over at a race. Having run for years, why then? Blaming it on running would be like having a heart attack in the bathtub and blaming it on hot water.
And non-runners always point to Jim Fixx who wrote about the benefits of running and then died young. The lesson there is that if you are running to increase your life span it may or may not work.
But if you enjoy it, there’s probably nothing about it any less healthy than other activities you could be doing. I think that’s the part that people don’t understand: it’s recreation, an activity of enjoyment, it’s fun. And it is difficult, so there is a measure of earned pride in accomplishment when things turn out well.
4 replies on “Running family”
This says a lot of good things about running. I never got into it, even in my abbreviated college days. It just didn’t seem to fit my personality or something. I like walking and bike riding, though. I’m so overweight now, something needs to be done soon. Mike and I are hoping the work on the farm does me some physical good. I think it will. All I do most of the day during the week is sit at a computer. A couple decades of that makes a big difference in metabolism and desire to pick up an exercise routine. At least for me. We won’t have the cable TV issue up there, either. The thought of a gym makes me cringe, so forget that. Also, if I could suddenly become allergic to cupcakes it would be a real boost.
Where we live there are runners and bikers everywhere, and of all ages. The culture is one to make you think you are the odd one to not do that. Same thing with smoking. One almost never sees anyone smoke and if you live in your own condo, you must be at least 20′ from your building to smoke. You can’t smoke indoors, on patios or decks or shared common areas outdoors.I think that helps promote healthier lifestyles, plus the mild winters make it easier to be outside.
Rural winter with early darkness doesn’t facilitate outdoor activity. I think you are going to have to work on finding something to raise a sweat that you enjoy doing regularly. Rural life isn’t as amenable vs.city life. My personal observation having lived in both. When I lived in Minneapolis I would cross country ski in parks (groomed trails) with friends often. That really raises a sweat. And when you were done that sweat would freeze. But in rural areas the wind blows snow into drifts and bare spots. Not so great for skiing. Minneapolis has a terrific network of biking trails for summer use. In contrast, rural life isn’t so great for biking (gravel roads).
Physical labor works the muscles but doesn’t make the heart pump faster for a long period, I’m thinking…
All good points urban vs. rural. Although if I can stand about 1/2 mile of gravel on the bike it takes me to the nearest trail at Big Creek. Many more trails now than there used to be. But it’s certainly true biking in the winter is out. You’re right a person needs to find something they really enjoy, otherwise the exercise won’t become a habit. Even walking would be a great improvement for me.
The proliferation of trails is a good thing! The Madrid Woodward trail would be close enough to drive to bike it frequently.
You’ll be closure to nature so that could be an attraction. Go out walking to see birds, etc. – canoe big creek – that would be super for upper body. I haven’t done that (at big creek) since college when the Grumman was stored there but it was a lot of fun.
So you have walking, canoeing, and biking. All covered. At least when weather and daylight permits.