Happy New Year to all you out there reading this blog!
Given 2020 is here, I’ve been thinking a lot about a topic
central this blog – running. Why I do it, and why I keep coming back to
it.
Running, like any activity, has its strengths and
weaknesses. Mention running to a former runner and you’re likely to get an earful
about injuries -- knee problems, Achilles tendonitis, IT band inflammation, hamstring
pulls, sprained ankles or plantar fasciitis. The list goes on and on.
As one who’s experienced all of these injuries and more, during
races but most often during overambitious training runs, I have to confess that
99.9% of the time it wasn’t the running that caused the injury, it was me, the
runner. Like fire, running can burn you if you don’t respect it. And I’ve been burned
more than I would like to admit. When you play with fire, you get burned.
But what would life be without this flame?
Over the years, I’ve struggled to find anything more
accurate as a measurement of my strengths and weaknesses. When I step to the
line of an ultra, everything I’ve done in the months leading up to that moment,
unmistakably, becomes real. There are no excuses. No alibies. Nothing but 100
miles between me and the finish line. That, to me, is ominous. And it draws me back
in. Every time I think about trying something different.
In business, people can become obsessed with competition. Doing
deals, making money, and driving revenues higher and higher. Growth for the sake
of growth. Beating the next guy. Becoming number one! But that culture will
ultimately lead to destruction. Because growth, like everything in this world,
needs its yang. With every up, there comes a down, and every success, comes
failure. Most businesses don’t prepare for that day. Running is similar, because there are the inevitable lows that come with the highs. I try not to forget this, although I often do.
It’s easy to point out the risks of running, but what about
the rewards? After all, we humans have been engaging in this activity for thousands
of years, well before the advent of orthotics or Advil.
Research shows that running and exercise can provide a
healthy, stimulated mind that can defend itself against the onslaught of
societal pressures. When running there are regions of the brain that are stimulated
that overcome the stress you feel from work, school, family or even the dentist
office.
These regions include the limbic system (regulates
motivation and mood), the amygdala (controls the fear reaction to stress, or
fight or flight), and the hippocampus (directs memory formation, mood and
motivation).[1] According
to PubMed report, running (along with other forms of aerobic exercise “improve
mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by
improving self-esteem and cognitive function.”
What I know if this. When I’m running I feel alive,
energetic and full of optimism. Life seems more colorful. When I’m not running I
feel lethargic, drab and a bit cantankerous.
[1]
Exercise for Mental Health, A. Sharma, MD, V Madaan, MD and F Petty, MD, Ph.D.,
Pub Med ___ date.
