Running has been around for ages. If you really think about it, technically all you really need is to get up, wear your sneakers and get started. Honestly speaking, I never really liked running. I didn’t see the point of running on a treadmill – I felt like I kept running but was getting nowhere anyway. “Running” outdoors for me usually meant mostly walking, with little spurts of jogs here and there. But it wasn’t really running per se. I didn’t understand it yet.
It was only seven months ago when one morning, a friend invited me to go join his group for a run instead of doing our yoga session. I decided to give it a try and the rest, I wish I could say, is history. But no – it’s not quite like that just yet. Three months into it, I slowly progressed my once a week runs to twice a week. And last January, after hitting a personal record while running around the neighborhood, I got “dragged” into my first ever 10-kilometer race. And that was the start of my love affair with running. Now seven months into this newfound love, every run makes me realize and discover new things that I wish I had known before getting into it. The aches and pains, the mental games – I wish I had known all of these.
Blisters and dead toenails. Wearing the wrong pair of shoes cost me a painful blister and a dead nail after one of my races. Thank goodness for nail polish (to cover the nail) and apple cider vinegar (to treat and dry out the blister). Acquiring them are not fun at all.
Chafing. What’s good about chafing is, you won’t really feel it until you hit the shower. I wish I had known that the band of my sports bra is one of the things that cause these. I later on discovered that there are special lubricants that you may apply on areas that chafe before you start running. If you’ve already chafed, Lucas’ Papaw ointment is the best medicine for it.
Energy gels. The amino acid, sodium and caffeine content of these amazing gels are essential while you are in the middle of your race or long distance training. I am guilty of hoarding these gels as they are great in refueling your tank once you feel like you’re almost empty but still have about five or more kilometers to run.
Getting on a bike is the best way to complement your run. As a general rule, I didn’t know that you’re not supposed to run everyday BUT you can bike/spin on the days in between. Biking works on a different muscle group on your legs and the action of your legs spinning help in your speed training.
Monster appetite. I used to only eat 2-3 times a day but because of running, my appetite has multiplied, and I have been ingesting meals at least five times a day. What I discovered, though, was that when I started eating rice (I was never a fan of it), I started increasing in size. But when I would eat a lot but eat SMART (complex carbs and clean food notwithstanding the volume), I maintained or even shredded down.
Kinetic tapes. After suffering from a knee injury when I first got into running, (the injury was non-running related), I had to learn how to put kinetic tapes around my knees just to make sure they won’t get aggravated or injured.
Recovery is as important as training. Respecting rest days are hard because sometimes you just want to get up and go. But without proper recovery, one will get injured. This also includes active stretching BEFORE the run, and static stretching AFTER.
It takes A LOT of DISCIPLINE. To stick to your training schedule and run at a certain time of day, at a certain pace and stay at a certain distance takes a lot of discipline. No matter how lazy you are, you have to hit your mileage if you want to do good. Waking up early to run is sometimes harder than running itself.
Endorphin high. No words will suffice to convey the happiness you feel once you hit that finish line. It is euphoric, a sort of high that you can only get once you do it. It’s a feeling you want to have over and over again. And you can’t help but talk about it because it just makes you so darn happy.
It is ADDICTING. Hitting your PRs (personal records) and breaking them every chance you get is one of the best feelings in the world. It makes your endorphin high, higher even, and the feeling is short of indescribable. There are days when you wake up and all you want to do is run, but feel sad because it’s not a run day. Trust me, I once drove out from the beach at 4:00 a.m. just so I could join my group’s 7:00 a.m. run in the city.
I used to say I hate running. Now I am completely, and utterly in love with it. It's true what they say – never say never.
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