Start with five minute sessions; don’t kill yourself. Because if you keep working at it, doing these five minute sessions a few times a week, you’ll discover this desire to go longer, maybe even faster. All of a sudden, you’ve developed a new hobby, a new way to deal with the inherent pain of human existence.
NOTE: If you don’t run for an extended period, it’s difficult to pick back up where you left off. Before becoming a serious*1 runner, I learned this the hard way. After a two month hiatus I tried recapturing my speed instead of transitioning back into it and nearly blacked out on the treadmill. My parents suggested that I get my heart checked to make sure everything was okay. The doctors conducted a test, which involved a ten minute walk on another treadmill, wires stuck to my chest to measure my signs. Here’s a picture of my shaved chest for, you know, posterity.
2) Music, as I’ve demonstrated in previous posts, is important. Playlists are a great way to maximize your run. Compile them carefully; stagger the songs to create a logical sequence, a flowing order. Listening to a full album is okay, but I’d advise you against listening to something you’ve never heard before. It’s difficult to harness the necessary energy for a run from something unfamiliar. And besides, that’s not fair to the work and artist. If you were to watch a film for the first time, would you do so while cleaning the den? Whichever selection you make, it should be something that’s already ingrained, something to simultaneously distract you and motivate you.
Suggestions? Some favorite albums, songs, playlists of mine:
-Vitalic: OK Cowboy
-Talking Heads playlist (featuring primarily Brian Eno-era material)
-Outkast: B.O.B
-Queens of the Stone Age: Songs for the Deaf
-LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
-General party-themed mix (Gorillaz, Jamiroquai, MJ, The Rapture)
3) Ignore the pain. I’ve had plenty of excuses to stop: shin splints*2, near blackouts*3, blistered feet*4. I could employ some cliché here, some silly “Pain is temporary, pride is forever” macho man shit. Truth is…it’s the truth. Running is striving for something, both physically and abstractly, but to achieve whatever it is you seek, you have to overcome these obstacles. I’d like to think that I’ve transferred some of the things I’ve learned from running to other facets of my life. The pain is the tangible obstacle, the putative one, but maybe you’ll probably detect less problems ones along the way. Like any pursuit, running raises existential questions: “Why am I doing this?” and “Is this worthwhile?” And for me, running is vital, necessary.
Another hackneyed aphorism: “The sweet ain’t as sweet without a bit of the sour.” Running epitomizes this sentiment, especially when considering the hard work I’ve put into it and the diminishing returns I’ve appeared to experience. But the hardships—the fatigue, the semi-injuries and aching muscles—are part of the reward, the bulk of it. It’s a ‘look what I did’ sense of accomplishments.
-----------------------------------------
*1 ‘Serious’ in the sense of frequency, which began in December 2007; the troubling incident occurred during the summer of 2006.
*2 Is this strictly a self-diagnosed injury? Regardless, the condition of my shins probably isn’t as serious as the condition implies.
*3 Remember? Look at that picture!
*4 More frequent in recent sessions. One toe appeared to have an ingrown toenail (it didn’t), while my middle toes appear to suffer the most, as well as the insides of my feet.
