Run as your life depends on it. I am not sure why I started running. It was a way to get out of the stress in engineering. Pretty sure I did not run long distances back then that, too, maybe twice or thrice a month.
In school, I barely ran but was always keen on running as I watched the other kids run races. I was jealous for some reason because I knew I could run much better than them only if I trained, but hey, nobody wants to teach a nerd.
Fast forward to 3 years back when I started to run seriously. Train like a regular runner, I can clock a sub-7-minute mile on the track. Not a great time, but it’s better than not running at all. I’ve gone through my fair share of injuries, including a severe ligament tear in my right heel, which I earlier misdiagnosed as Achilles tendonitis. I still haven’t healed 100%, but it’s better than before.
It’s weird to “not run” when you are injured as your body has all this energy built up, and it’s hard to go to sleep as you are used to being using that endurance. Running always gave me a sense of freedom and achievements, even a bit of adrenaline rush. Runner’s high is a thing, or so I’ve been told.
On Sunday, I decided to make a massive mistake as I had bought but not used Nike’s dragonfly for 6+ months now. So this happened:
I decided to run, in 80F, wearing back, with no water.
I could barely run 1.5 miles and at a 6:45 pace. My pace was all over the place, my cadence and stride were horrible. I was again landing on the back of my heel. It’s weird because every single time I’ve ever decided to run on a track, the weather goes from best to worst in a matter of minutes and all my plans end up in the dirt.
Sir Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4-minute mile. Everyone said it could not be done until he did it. Eluid Kipchoge ran the first 2-hour marathon distance when it was said that it was impossible. And then the Norwegian prodigy Jakob Ingebrigtsen (My fav athlete to date) won at the Olympics at 1500m. I was rooting for him so much that I couldn’t even sleep the whole night. I’d been following him since he was 16. The perseverance, dedication, and work just light up when he starts running. He looks effortless.
Running is one of the best body workouts after the rower, but it builds endurance better and elevates your heart rate better than the rower.
I was training for the Brooklyn half, but it got canceled due to the pandemic. I stopped training at 10 miles at a 10-minute pace; It was fun. I run only twice a week for now as I still want to recover quickly, and the workout at home feels fine.