On Running: From Zero to 13.1 Miles
It’s been a while since I first wrote my blog, partly because of moving into my work up in Kirkland (more on this beautiful patch of Washington later), and also because I’ve been doing something my 15 year old “gym bro” self probably would’ve made fun of in between sets of wobbly bench presses: running.

Coming from a lifting background that was a religious rotation of arms, chest, and arms (slightly kidding), cardio was always considered a concept taught in physiology class and never an actual physical activity. You can’t just walk up to the mirror and admire all your heart gains as a young buck trying to look good. After all, it seemed hard to impress that girl in physics class with “I just logged a million steps on my Fitbit how about you”.
Despite all of that, I was actually once wise and humble enough to dance around the idea of running ironically to show people how easy it was. The idea eventually became too good of a joke to pass up when I saw a Reddit post telling me to buy a race bib — a power move that pitted your inner cheap ass vs. your will to train that sunk cost back.
“Yeah, that would be pure gold” is what I thought to myself as I imagined finishing top ten in some random marathon.
Well, one very random and impulsive purchase later, I now have a spot in the SF (Half) Marathon this coming Sunday. Though I’m probably not going to be even close to placing top ten, I knew I was jumping into the deep end of training because I didn’t want to look like this guy at the finish line.

6 months. 6 months of sweat drenched T-shirts, struggling mile times, sore feet, and a few too many post workout calories consumed. That’s how long this journey to complete 13.1 miles has been since the start of one bad joke taken too seriously. I could’ve stopped anytime and move on to obviously funnier things, but I kept going for a couple of reasons.
The one most people probably think of is how running is actually good for your body, living long, being lean, etc… basically something my mom would approve of. This surprisingly was one of the last things I thought about when running, but then I realized I wanted to live long enough to see the Clippers win an NBA championship. So that’s a bonus.
I think I didn’t truly know why I ran until I actually started putting down miles upon miles on the track, treadmill, streets and beyond. No matter activity you do, if you’re doing for periods of time you’re also going to have a lot of time for thoughts to trickle in (i.e. this again). The only difference now is that instead of sitting comfortably in the driver seat, you are now pedaling your own legs and damn, does that pedaling hurt.

To give you an idea of the things I’ve learned while in fast/not-so-fast motion, I present to you a list in true BuzzFeed fashion.
Running is
painful. Point blank, no sugar coating required. You’d think after getting better at running your muscles, bones, and lungs would adapt to the fast lane.
Nope. As soon as you think you’re better at running, you just run faster; the fire below your chest will ignite once again and so begins the vicious cycle of trying to gasp for air. If you’re ever on the fence about running and are scared of looking like a scrub on the track, trust me when I say I still sound like as if Darth Vader smoked cigars after my workouts.
Running is
a sensation I previously thought was bound to runways and the blistering liftoff of jumbo jets. For those of you who’ve traveled by plane and sat in the window seat before, you can feel the sudden jolt of acceleration it straightens out on the tarmac and enters practical light speed. Then, almost like magic, there’s this moment when the wheels barely skid off the ground and the background tilts a bit in the distant.
This is known as taking flight, and honest to god I’ve almost one up’d the Wright brothers at the start of my runs.

Running is
something that makes you look cool (I hope). You know when in the movies the soundtrack comes on before the main character does something epic. Yeah, something kind of like that except there’s no slow-mo effect — it’s just me being slow, bro.
Running is
a challenge, one that’s personal to yourself because it asks not what you can’t do, but what you can do. With a barrier of entry strikingly low compared to other sports, it doesn’t take much to run a lap around the track. And if you can do that, why not one more? And another one. And another. And when you can’t run another lap?
Take another step. That’s the mentality I have when I put on my shoes and head out to wherever my feet take me. No matter how much it hurts to inhale and exhale and straighten your back and look forward and much more… the act of putting one foot in front of the other is always possible.
Thump after thump, the challenge gets realer. Now it’s up to you to push the boundaries of what was once thought as impossible, even if it feels like you’re in flames every step of the way. The last piece of the equation is how I power through those last grueling strides, and to that I say…
Running is
a way to look at life through a lens that is incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced.
There are pains that pierce the body, and ones that tug on the soul — the latter being a problem no doctor, therapist, or sorcerer has surely found the cure to yet. Still, there are things you can do to alleviate these tugs in the meantime of finding the real answer, so I decided to make running the Advil of my deeper worries in life.
Peace is all anyone could ever ask for — I demand for it in my own unique way. When I’m at the point where I’d give life and limb for the burning to stop, I exchange my privilege to complain about anything less severe than the lack of air in my lungs for a moment of complete, mental bliss. Some call this runner’s high, I call it an almost scientific process of converting your looming heart aches into furious heart beats.
You can’t run away from all your problems, but you can run. And run until your problems don’t even compare to the fear of swallowing the last piece of oxygen left in this world.
To those who are reading this and are seasoned runners, I commend you for taking on everything I’ve described above plus more that I don’t even know yet. And to those who don’t really run, I would say it doesn’t hurt to take a lap next time you have some minutes to spare — I promise it won’t take longer than reading this blog post :).
I’ll report back to see if I still feel the same about running after the real deal tomorrow. If my legs don’t hate me too much by the end of it, expect a part 2 in 2019 when I decide to run the full marathon!
BONUS GRAPHIC: The Running Pain Index (RPI) according to a very amateur and novice runner

