Practicing Body Scanning After a 40 Mile Month

     As previously stated in a more recent post, I have decided to revive the 2019 goal of running 500+ miles in this new year. The goal may be the same, but my approach to running has changed quite dramatically.

     I changed my thoughts about running as I became more in tune with my body and participated in a few different events over the past year.

     First, I'm not getting any younger, and my physical history is only going to make it harder to get better at running. After struggling with weight for several years and periods of general inactivity, I know that it will eventually come back to haunt me. Couple that with some lingering injuries, and really I'm running on borrowed time.

     Second, I know that I don't have the time to devote to running several 40+ mile months. Without the time to fully train, I know that I won't be challenging Kipchoge anytime soon.

     I made a list of a few things that I've thought about when revamping my approach to running.

      1. I have to run my own race, every single day.
     What I mean by this, is that if I'm not going out to challenge another person, and am instead challenging myself to be better than I was before, then there is no point in comparing myself to others. I have run just long enough to know that there's about 99% of the population that can run faster or farther than me. Some of the people I run with on occasion have an "injured pace" that is my normal pace, and the truth of the matter is is that now I'm okay with that. Those people have been running for the better part of 15 years and know more about the science and art of running than I will ever know. If I go out and run my own race, against my own wanting to stop, then maybe I won't be the best runner, but I'll still be a runner.

     2. Running isn't about changing a speed or a distance; it's about changing yourself.
     I was reading Peter Sagal's "The Incomplete Book of Running" and he makes a very solid point. Runners realize that the most important thing they're changing is themselves. Knowing that they have bent their will and tested their mettle against the pavement or trail and has come out the other side better for it. Unless you're in the top 1% of runners who make a career of running, you're really wanting to change something about yourself. For most runners, this is our therapy. Way cheaper, too.

     3. Body scanning, while traditionally used for yoga or meditation, works well for runners,           too.
     With body scanning, a person essentially focuses on how individual parts of the body feels. Depending on your goal, whether it's athletic or meditative, you should be able to pick up on things that feel healthy and parts of you that feel injured or otherwise impaired.

     This is where I have decided to focus much of my energy this month as I have run more this month than in any month prior.

     So, what do I notice when I do a body scan? I notice that sometimes my skin is dry, which is a major pet peeve. I notice that my fingers often feel stiff, what I would imagine arthritis feels like in the beginning, although I wouldn't know what it feels like. My lower back is constantly tight, has been for 10 years now, which makes me feel old to put it in writing. Next, I focus on my knees; these guys have been the biggest pain in my life since I was diagnosed with having out of place knee caps. The left one talks more than the right, and I often have to soak it after a long run. Then I move down to the feet and ankles; they pop, they hurt, and they get tight after almost every run.

     Other than looking like the perfect candidate for a nursing home, reading this makes me realize something. I could stop having a majority of these maladies if I did one simple thing: stop running. If I were to stop  running, I bet my knees wouldn't hurt so bad. I can imagine that my hands and face would not be subjected to cold or heat as much, helping my skin and the stiffness in my joints. If I stopped running, I might actually be able to enjoy a few more things without all the aches and pains.

     However, when I do a body scan, I also scan my own thoughts. My thoughts on running normally circle back to one or two key thoughts. The first, is that I am making myself healthier for my family. I want to be able to keep up with my two boys and not just be a spectator to their youth. As a matter of fact, I need to be able to keep up with them. The second thought is that this is my therapy. At just about any point in my adult life when things got stressful, messy, or painful, I would turn to running as a release. I can't afford therapy and am still stubborn enough to claim not to need it, but who knows. I am able to erase the day or clarify my thoughts on any multitude of things during a 30 minute trip around the block.

     So what's the point in all this? It's that a mind/body scan is one of the most important tools I have in my toolbox, and that it is ultimately tied to my running. If I hadn't started running, I would have most likely never really thought about doing a body scan. Running is my crystal clear pond that I look into to figure out who is looking back. Running has cleared my mind through family stress, work stress, miscarriage, and anger. It has been a place for me to commune with God or let my mind become a blank slate.

     The punchline to all of this is that 4 years ago I hated running and would find any excuse to not do it. What a change a few short years can make.

Best,