What I Learned in a Month Spent Running
When I decided to spend a month trying to force myself to really love running for the Lifehacker Fitness Challenge , I admit that my expectations were low. And after my first try, they fell even more than I thought. A series of ups and downs followed over the next few weeks, culminating in the conclusion: I don’t quite like running yet, but I can really tolerate it now, and I think I’ll like it even more over time. …
As you may recall, if you followed my journey, that first race I took — simply to establish a starting point from where I started — was not at all like that. I was running uphill in the neighborhood (for reasons that I still cannot explain), my ankles could not bend properly (for reasons that I still cannot determine), and I only walked two blocks before I cursed my decision to try to solve this problem at all (this part makes sense).
However, by week two, I discovered that joy is a zombie, run! an app that I found entertaining and that gave me extra motivation and I landed in the firmly neutral “Running is Fur” category – a significant improvement. Week 3 saw even more gains after Lifehacker Editor-in-Chief Jordan Calhoun and I interviewed Strength Running’s Jason Fitzgerald for the Lifehacker The Upgrade podcast – Jason’s support and advice set me up for what was probably the most enjoyable run of all. that I have ever done. taken in my life . I didn’t necessarily like the whole run yet, but this particular run I liked.
However, when I woke up the next morning with a sore ankle, I gave myself a few days to rest so as not to risk even more. The week that followed was a bit of a bummer, including one last run that ended when the pain in my ankle suddenly intensified as I was about to go for a walk. Before that, everything was going well. I felt strong and proud of my success.
Despite minor injury, I gave myself a “three” on a running mood scale of one to five this week. (Five, “Oh, so this is what hell feels like,” and one creature, “Weeee, I’m a runner! Look at me!”) I feel like I’m still somehow successful because if you are. ” A month ago, d asked me how I expected to feel completing this test on a painful note, I would say, “As if this will be the last run I will ever take.”
I actually tell myself at the beginning of this process that if I’m before the end of the month and still didn’t feel like running, I never had to “run” again as long as I lived, and may return to my earlier planned exercises that I really enjoy. But now I see that in the past, I never got stuck on running long enough to get past the hump that most novice runners face. And this time I can say that I am here – I am so close.
So, did I learn to run in 30 days? I think not during this particular 30 days, given the circumstances. But I was able to develop a new appreciation for it, and I can see a path forward for my liking in the near future – a future in which adequate stretching will finally become a top priority.