Recently I’ve started running again. I say running. What I actually mean is a slow jog interspersed with lots of walking. Because the truth is, while it can take months to build up your running fitness, you lose it in half the time. I have been running for almost 30 years and I’ve run two marathons; now I struggle to run around the block.
I know the process though, so I’m not concerned. Running is mostly in the mind. I doubted I could run a marathon the first time around and the struggle was real. But once that precedent was set I never doubted again. It doesn’t mean that is isn’t hard. Running is always hard, but my body knows what to do.
This can work against me. After any break from running, I tend to return to it without consideration for what my body needs. I know that I can run three miles easily and so I ignore any discomfort and start from there. In reality, what my body needs is to build back up slowly to avoid injury. It also needs to cool down and stretch afterwards, something that, for years, I saw as a waste of time. As a result, I have had a lot of injuries.
I haven’t run consistently over the last couple of years. The peri-menopause meant that I didn’t have the energy or the inclination and I’ve had injury flare ups in my adductor muscles and my ankle. But I’ve missed it. Every time I see a fellow runner pounding the pavement a longing comes over me. And now that I am feeling more myself, it is time.
This time I have decided to do it properly. Having had a possible arthritis diagnosis in my ankle, I now realise that I need to treat my body with care. Before, I ran for weight loss or ego, now I want to be fit and healthy, not skinny and frail. So I have been taking it slow. Walk, jog, walk, jog. Not too far. Stretching properly. Doing the exercises set me by the physio.
I forgot just how much running quietens my racing mind. Forgot that runner’s high, my whole body tingling with energy, my lungs filled with fresh air. I’ve not put any pressure on myself in terms of distance or time. I have no interest in races or medals. All that I’m concerned with is putting one foot in front of the other, getting from A to B and that feeling at the end. This is running 2.0 and this new peri-Kerry is loving it.
