All cowards run away

How running changed my life

There is a Spanish saying that says that all cowards run away and a few years ago I figured out that it wasn’t true (at least for me). Running changed me. People that know me know how much I love running, how easy is to convince me or make me happy.

It was a summer more than 5 years ago when I did my first workout. The reason, the same reason that drives many people to workout, lose weight. By that time, I did weight almost 100 Kg. It was too much, I was frustrated since physically couldn’t do as many things as I wanted. Moreover, you were the subject of many jokes about fatness. I love food as much as I do with running. But I didn’t sport that much and I paid the consequences. Solution? I got a pair of shoes and did my first workout in my hometown, next to the river. After 2 kilometers, my legs couldn’t run an extra kilometer, it was very hot and I was sweating a lot. It was my first step, but not the last since I wanted to prove myself I was able to lose that weight. First, because of health, and second because I wanted to shut up all these people that had been making fun of me.

Running helps you to overcome your limits in life. We’re constantly facing limits in life, that language you want to learn, that race you want to participate in, … Our first reaction is always feeling afraid about these limits. We put ourselves in the position where we feel we cannot achieve them. But you can, it’s about constancy. And running opened my eyes and now limits are not so limiting.

I did have neither iPhone, nor tracking bracelet, but a chip that you could put in your shoes and it tracked the Kilometers. I used my iPod Nano for music and tracked everything with Nike. The iPod Nano application had a feature called Power Song, you could play it whenever you needed it, and my power song was “Coldplay — Viva la Vida”. I played it in the last kilometer when I needed that extra boost of energy, and when I was running up a hill, and my legs complained about the elevation. Coldplay was and has been my energy in every workout since them (and after some years of long wait, I’ll be in one of their concerts in Europe).

Running buddy

And motivation

You cannot have a human running buddy in every workout, I found mine in music. I can’t imagine a workout without music, I create my playlists with the music that motivates me and makes me think. These songs that have an especial meaning for me or songs whose rhythm make my legs moving at the same pace. I can’t imagine a workout without music. Try to select the music before because if I listen to music with a fast pace I increase my pace unconsciously.

Depending on the day, if I’m inspired I even listen to audiobooks. I know that men can’t do two things simultaneously but once my brain switches my legs movement on it can move to another context. And it even helps you to not think in your legs or your breathing.

Music run buddy is great but a human run buddy is even better. You can’t have them every time you workout but when you have the opportunity and they’re willing to go running with you leave your earphones at home and enjoy the pleasure of human interactions. I made great friends running. My first run buddy was a high school friend, one of my best friends and he pushed me every time I wanted to stop. We woke up every morning at 7 to go running. And thanks to these tiring wake ups I lost almost 20 Kg. I went running with university friends whenever we needed to disconnect from University. I introduced people to running and they have the running as their main sport. I helped people to do their first 10K and also met friends the same day both were going to run our first marathon. People running are likely proving themselves they can either achieve their goals in life or overcome problems. You, both, might share something. Go running together and motivate each other. Leave the screen at home, get your shoes and start running, find a buddy. Ask your friends or people at your company. I’m sure any of them is thinking the same.

Besides the sporty values running empowers human values. Have you been thinking about running but never found enough motivation? Ask your workmate, or your flatmate, and go together, mutual motivation is an amazing motivation.

Disconnecting

Finding my inner peace and harmony with nature

We spend a lot of time looking at screens, information flows constantly, and we disconnect only when we go to sleep. We leave the office and keep looking at our phone, we get home and we go to the gym with our phone, to stay updated with Instagram, Facebook, and the last events in your friends lifes. Procrastination is relatively easy nowadays. We, all, tend to it. And we don’t find time for ourselves. Isn’t it sad?

I find that time in running, it clears my mind when I go running in the morning and activates me to face the day on a positive manner. A complicated day at the office? Go running and stop worrying about the things that happened, tomorrow will be a better day. When I go running I think about myself, about the things I did today, good and bad things. Think about what I could have done better or what I shouldn’t do anymore. I also have a lot of ideas, running, your blood flows faster, and it activates your brain. Your ideas flow as well. I like to say that running creates on my the same feeling as beer does, but in a healthy way. Amongst other reasons, that’s the reason why I personally hate gyms, because it means moving from a closed space to another closed space. Running is freedom, it’s not only peace with yourself but with the nature. Feel the road under your feet, and also, the trees surrounding you in a forest. Feel the fresh air in your face, and breath, breath deeper. A beauty sight? Stop and contemplate it. A lake? swim there. Is it snowing? Go running, and feel the snow over you. This world is beautiful, and we miss it in a gym, or in our houses playing with our computers.

We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves…The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, ‘You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable. Roger Bannister

Find your limits

And pass them, and look for the next one

I started running overcoming something that had been frustrating me for years, seeing people making fun of me made me stronger. I felt that limits are in life to jump over them and look for the next limit. Sometimes limits come as problems in your life that you have to face, your girlfriend breaks up, emotionally you’re not in your best moment, life is not showing you its best face, go running.

Running turns anger into relief, pessimism into optimism, problems into solutions, and life into and very exciting adventure.

I had never done a half marathon, it was very challenging for me a few years ago. I proved myself I could do it. I saw 42 km as something impossible for me, it was a limit for me. Guess what I did. Prepared the marathon, prepared physically and proved myself again that I could do these 42 km. I will never Brandenburg gate after 42 km. My body was a shake of feelings, illusion, happiness, anger, excitement, … Can’t describe that feeling but say something to you, you must try it.

Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself. John Bingham

Run Forest, run

Running changed my life, thanks for being there. Thanks to all these people that shared workouts with me. If my health allows it, we’ll be best friends forever. Thanks for making my life a challenge, exciting, and something worth of living. Running changed me, but it does not mean you’ll have the same feeling with it. Try it, the only couple of things you need is a pair of shoes and illusion. Are you in Berlin? Let’s go running together, are you thinking about doing a marathon or a running adventure? Let’s go together. No matter, which passions you have in life, it can be running, football, walking, … Enjoy them, and have time for yourself, you deserve it.

A runner must run with dreams in his heart. Emil Zatopek