Splash No. 216 - Running
Running
I’ve had an on-again-off-again relationship with running for years. In high school, I would try to escape the stresses of my schoolwork by going for runs on the trail in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was doing, and would run as hard as I could up the graveled hills and be tired after a few minutes — mostly walking for the rest of the duration of a given run. I continued these sporadic runs into college and even into the beginning of my working life. I enjoyed these runs well enough, mostly for the accomplished exhaustion that would follow. My limbs were heavy, but in a way that felt meaningful, earned. Yet, the actual experience of running was often a slog, categorized by heavy breathing, shin splints, and foot pain.
Now, I’m deeply infatuated with running — not just the feeling after, but the entire process: my body groans and creaks as I warm up on a run, slowly find my rhythm, let my heart pound and my lungs fill and deflate, fill and deflate. I guess all that was missing was a new pair of running shoes to match my stride and an appointment with a podiatrist to remedy my foot pain. Well, not quite.
My love for running can be attributed to a man named Coach Bennett, the Global Head Coach for Nike Running, who has recorded hours upon hours of guided runs, dropping wisdom, and running advice with a calm voice, avuncular energy, and a mustache you can almost hear. He has many amazing things to say, but what has really stuck with me is his idea that every run has a purpose. Most runs are slow recovery runs, some runs are for speed or tempo or celebration or whatever else. Beyond that, according to Coach Bennett, each run is a win, a way for a runner to get better in one way or another. Each run is a win, even if the pace or the distance doesn’t always look like it. Each run is a win, a unique experience in one’s body that cannot be compared to another.
With this mindset, I’ve found myself running much more slowly than I ever would let myself before, focusing on trying to match the purpose and intent of each run. I often run as the sun sets over the trees of my local park, bathing the grass in hazy sunbeams. Even at my slowest pace with pain and discomfort, I’m overjoyed to be able to experience a run, to feel my body move and push against its limits. I’m steadily getting faster, I’m steadily finding more endurance, and each run makes me more excited for the next.
I wonder what it would be like if I could treat my days like I treat my runs. Each day with a purpose: some for rest, some for speed, some for celebration. Would I find excitement for each day, just for the chance to be able to experience it?
Drops of the Week
SONG - "Leave Me" by AIR APPARENT - latest AIR APPARENT single!!
ARTICLE - "Fidelity Angst" by Mack Hagood - article that validates the fact that I actively avoided becoming an audiophile
POEM - "Days" by Philip Larkin - Where can we live but days?
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On two legs,
Nikhil