by Sean Meehan
Understatement of the century alert: it has been an intense year so far.
Along the way, a heightened use of social media has likely given you the impression that everyone else has spent the past few months getting ridiculously fit, learning to cook fantastic food, becoming a polyglot and generally re-arranging their life into a positive new mosaic. It may feel like everyone else is out having epic summer adventures in the mountains and setting PRs in one virtual race after another. So why do you just feel like you’ve lost your running mojo? Perhaps it was enforced due to a ‘stay at home’ order, or perhaps your motivation just evaporated without a race or running adventure to prepare for. Maybe you were scared out of your wits watching 24/7 news coverage and wishing you had an off-grid cabin deep in the woods somewhere. Financial and familial stresses are probably more real than ever before. Whatever the reason for your reduced mileage, it’s fine. Sometimes we just need to stop running for awhile.
But, you don’t want ‘awhile’ to last forever. For those like me whose mileage dropped off a cliff, we are faced with the challenge of finding the groove again. You know how good it feels when you’re as fit as you can be, rolling up the miles and enjoying every step. But for whatever reason you just aren’t lacing up your shoes and getting out the door to do it right now. You know that you want to get back to that place, but how do you get the process started? Here are a few ideas and suggestions that might help you hack your own (perhaps recently acquired and bad) habits!
Think about what it was made you run before: the desire to get fit or lose weight, the competitive pull of a race, a curious nature that drew you out to go exploring. Try to understand the underlying motivation prior to ‘all this’. Is that motivation still there? Is it still usable, or do you need to reset your why? Maybe you love trail, but the trails aren’t accessible now; you might have to pivot towards pavement and treadmills for a while. It’s not the same fix, but it is a fix! Perhaps you usually run on the treadmill at the gym, but it is closed; this can be the reason to go try out trail running for the first time in a part of town you haven’t explored before. Perhaps you have less time than you used to due to child-minding responsibilities or from work moving into the home, but it could also be true that your time just needs to be utilized differently. Carving out a bit of time for your own physical well-being is not selfish, it’s essential.
We also need to try to understand the thoughts that are blocking you from running at the moment and strip them away, or at least use some trickery to change their course. If you don’t use Strava, try it now. The perceived ‘social pressure’ of the public upload of your run might be a useful shove. On the contrary, if you feel pressure surrounding your slower-than-usual pace upon upload, leave your watch at home! Do some run-walking and give no f’s. It is just you out there doing your thing, getting going again.
How else can we reset our relationship to running? Are you useless with maps and incapable of running anywhere new without someone else leading the way? Meet that problem head-on and study Google maps, learn your way around any of the many route-making apps out there or - my personal favorite! - buy yourself a nice paper copy of your area! No app or screen can replace the feeling of poring over a brand new trail map. You might well have the time now to go get lost. Uncover those ‘dark areas’ of the map you don’t know well. See what connects where and find out where those mystery roads and trails lead to. Maybe buy a new running gadget or some gear! Give yourself a little ‘it’s not my birthday” present and perhaps the purchase will force you into using said new gear. Finally, maybe a bit banal but highly effective, set a goal! You’re going to have to self-generate and use imagination here. Make your own race course, pick a 5km or 10km time to aim at and go for it for a few weeks. Sign up for a virtual event and perhaps discover that it’s a lot more enjoyable than you expected! Run 1000 laps of your block until you encounter transcendence; whatever floats your boat. The point here is you might have to rejig or reset your relationship with running and, with much symmetry to society at large, ‘find a new normal.’
Once you get back out there, just enjoy the ‘thereness’ of it. Don’t worry if you’re breathing heavier than you used to or sweating profusely and definitely don’t worry about your pace. Who cares? You’re out there. Even if it now involves weird body-swerves when you meet people on narrow trails and awkward elbow bumps to people you haven’t seen in awhile. And while you’re out there, notice what you’ve been missing. The crunch of the trail under your feet or the smack of the pavement, the smell of the damp forest in the morning, the chorus of birdsong, the little observations you can make that mark the passing seasons; wildflowers growing on the roadside, fruit bushes ripening, farmers harvesting fields - whatever observation connects you to your local landscape. And if all else fails, set an alarm - an early one! - and go indulge in that transformative, magic hour before the world wakes up.
Remember that the important thing about running is not so much the running itself, but the experiences and the feelings it can unlock. Running is a vehicle. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that when I’m playing games with myself about whether or not to go out for a run. I know I’m going to feel better on the other side. Be more productive. Have better ideas. Be in a better mood. Sleep better. Enjoy my beer and Kettle Chips more. Why am I procrastinating?
Get it done, call it a comeback.