The Silence of Running
A case for quiet rooms
I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested — Sheldon Cooper
I hate running. I do. And yet, just before lunchtime, I find myself looking for my running shoes, shooing the cats away from my laces, taking a couple gulps of water, stretching for a couple of minutes, and then heading down to my apartment building’s fitness center.
Sometimes I think that I’m the only person using the center since I’m always alone — a perk of working from home, I guess. The past couple of days I’ve bumped into the building’s maintenance guy eating his lunch in the adjoining room. As I passed him today, I said somewhat apathetically, “It’s that time again.” He reminded me that working out daily “is what we all need to do to stay in shape.” I smiled and let out a quick, “yup.” I left him to his lunch.
There are two treadmills in the room. I usually take the one farthest left. The other treadmill is between the one that I use and an elliptical machine that I’m scared to use. The treadmill that I use has a wall next to it. Better to have one person next to me than two is what I think. But then again, I’m usually the only person there. Yet I’ve never strayed from that logic.
I started running not because I needed to stay in shape. No, I started running for different reasons altogether. Rather than the physical benefits, I sought out running entirely for mental reasons.
Running before lunch has given me an hour to mentally detach from the relentless thoughts of work and home and all channels of communication that my gadgets provide. No gadgets are allowed when I’m running. I run to mute the world.
I should qualify that statement. Not all is muted. Strangely, amid the noise of the treadmill, I can hear my heart thumping. For the first mile, my heart rate is steady. After that, it starts to quicken. The beating initially disturbs me. Without fail listening to its quickening cadence transports me into “the zone.”
People have described “the zone” as a moment of ultimate mental focus and clarity. In many ways, my zone is no different. Rather than focus or clarity, my mind transforms into an empty and bottomless vessel. For me, the zone is a quiet room.
Running daily has improved my times. My waistline has gotten leaner. My partner says that my calves have gotten more muscular. These results are fantastic, no doubt. But sometimes life for me becomes incredibly loud. Often I can’t even hear my partner speaking to me even if he’s right in front of me because of all the thoughts that are racing in my head. I have sought other ways to mute the noise like meditation or reading novels but with no luck. Only running works.
So tomorrow, I’ll head back down to the fitness center and run. For as much as I hate running, I love the momentary pause that it offers. Rather than a “rush” or “high” that most people speak of, I enjoy the silence.
In this frenetic world, I do think we all deserve a quiet room. I create mine on a treadmill or, when the weather is warmer, running outdoors.
