Running at unsociable times

Since I started running, it seems like consciously or not, I have a tendency to run at unsociable times. By unsociable I mean Thursday at 5.30 am just as I wake up, Tuesday 12.30 pm during my lunch breaks when I work from home or Sunday mornings at 6.30 am for a long run.

I’m not 100% sure why I chose this path, but it seems to agree with my personality. I am not a competitive person, if anything, my past experiences at sports have shown that I perform better when I am not in the “win or lose” mindset. Having other people with me, specially unfamiliar, puts me in that a weird tension of sizing up.

Not only that, if I find a good partner to run with a similar pace, it means that now there are at least two schedules to synchronise in order for the run to happen.

One thought that came to me recently:

Are there people that stop (or not even start) running because they can’t fit it in their routine? is the social aspect related?

Social pressure, want it or not, is a tricky thing and affects people in different ways. It can be a powerful motivation effect, to keep at our goals and strive. Also too much and we can be trying to achieve unrealistic goals set by others and find ourselves expose and struggling.

My decision was to choose the solo path, with some rare but utmost enjoyable runs with friends.

Running at this odd times has given me the flexibility to fit running into my life, however complex or hectic routine can be. Looking back at the past 3 years of almost continuous running, I cannot imagine being able to keep up without this flexibility.

The other related question is:

Have I missed an aspect of the sport by not participating on running groups?

Some of the people I spoke with about this topic say that the fundamental enjoyment of the activity is based on the activity itself, and less so the social aspect. In this case, the ability to socialize and meet people is an extra added bonus, a sugar coating if you like.

Motivation not always comes in the same forms, from the social perspective it can be a friend taking you to that first parkrun or telling you about the feeling of pure joy after crossing the finish line of the first marathon.

On the solo side, the feeling of achievement and fulfillment after that long run you never thought possible knowing that it was you by your means that made it, is hard to replicate.

My current answer is no, running is an enjoyable and fulfilling activity which lets me test my boundaries. Today I run for myself, to clear my mind and enjoy the experience.

If you are reading this and think that you want to give running a try, my advice is: make sure you define why you want to run, and let this guide your decision on how to go about it.

Building long lasting change is about meaning, and for me running means happy.

Alvaro Fernando Lara

Written by

Software person, loves running and enjoying the process rather than the outcome. Working at Onfido to help bring identities online.

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