two years of running
I always wanted to write about running because when I run I tend to come up with thoughts and revelations about life. It has now been 2 years and 1 month since I started running regularly, and it seems a good moment to jot down some thoughts before my 2nd half marathon coming up in May.
The beginning
When I was in high school I joined the recreational track and field team, and practiced triple jump for a year. I liked how you could "fly" and pull off epic moves with the jumps. I competed in local track meets and my best result was 6th place. At the time I was terrible at running though, I remembered going for a 400 m race and got the last place... I also ran my first 5K at a local event, timed about 35 mins.
During college I only worked out at the gym occasionally, because there was just so much work (that's life in architecture schools). And after I started working, I did not exercise for the first two years, because I often got off work after 9pm. I grew angry at my career and myself in general.
Then I broke my ankle and could not walk for about 3 months. I broke it when setting up a tent and stepped into a dent hidden in the grass. Anyways, I could not walk but I still have to go to work, and during the time I really thought about 1) how privileged I was just to be able to walk and run with a healthy body; 2) how uneven the sidewalks were.
During my last visit to the hospital, my doctor said everything was well and all I needed to do was to exercise more, maybe start running and be stronger. And that was the ringing bell. All those years I heard the concept of exercise and run for the benefit of health, but never actually did it as a "thing", until I heard a simple comment from my doctor. I still could not believe I broke my ankle by missing a step on the grass, I wasn't convinced that my body was so weak and fragile. With that, I started running in March 2024.
The Process
If people start from 0 with running, then I probably started from -20, because I need to first practice walking before running. For the first 6 months after recovery from the broken ankle, I had to wear a silicon ankle support at all times to prevent it from a second injury.
Running is hard work, and at first it was exceptionally hard. My heart rate was high, and I had to learn how to breathe like a newborn baby (breathe with your mouth closed and pace it with your steps). I started along a small river near my home running back and forth, then the big park for 5km loops. I got up at 6am in winter and 5:30am in summer to run before work, though I still got off work after 9pm quite often. I enjoyed running because it was one of the only things I could grasp and control by myself. Nobody was going to bother me during the 30 minutes I ran, and my brain simply could not entertain any other thought other than counting rhythm and breaths. That means I temporarily forgot about all concerns, worries, emails, messages and deadlines. Like swimming, it forces you to focus only on the present moment. I cannot fast forward (a habit I am stuck with when watching a video or listening to a podcast). In running, your speed is defined by your body. It's not like if you want speed you can just run faster, your body has its own idea, and sometimes you are simply not capable of that speed, and you have to accept it.
What is fascinating is I get to know my own body. Like in yoga and swimming, I know my body's limit, what is it like when I am in certain pose and movements, where would hurt if I do such and such things. And I was truly amazed by my body after I finished my first half-marathon and felt completely fine the next day.
I also loved how running is one of the ways we can experience "flying" as humble humans (the other ways include swimming and triple-jump). Give it some speed and one can fly! I enjoy the speed that is faster than walking but slower than cycling, and I especially like how trees, objects and scenes move faster than usual, as if I am driving a car made of my own body.
One important thing I learned from running is to show up. The importance of getting out there and do it. To follow my schedule so I don't regret wasting one precious day of training with a healthy body.
Events
I have decided that running would be a life-long hobby because there are so many events I can join each year. During my 2 years of diligent running, I went to the Nike ADT 10km in Shanghai (all-women, and they provided hair dressing on race day and a sports bra), a 50-storey tower climbing in the tallest skyscraper in Shanghai (also all-women plus hair dressing and lots of food), a free group workout organized by Asics, a half-marathon in Wuxi (free shuttles from the hotel to the start line, lots of food samples, and a wonderful weekend with my family), and a 10km event in Sydney (the chill vibe). Next up I will attend 2-3 running events here in Sydney this year. If I keep running, I would have plenty of things to do each year, and the events give me goals for my training.
What I liked about the events is they provide an opportunity to view and learn about myself in a large crowd. I am not a fast runner at all, and my results are generally at 50% of all participants. Every time I go to an event, I am surprised to find I am actually doing better than I expected. First, I have to accept that waves after waves of people run past and ahead of me during the first few kms from the start line. But then, I see all kinds of people who, despite how strong or elite they look, are actually running at about my pace. In most running events you would see more males than females, so running among them or even faster than them really empowers me in all kind of ways.
Influences
Finally I want to note down what inspires me to run. 《强风吹拂》/風が強く吹いている/Run with the Wind, a novel and later adaptation into anime, was one of my biggest reasons to run at the first place. I would recommend reading the novel, as it depicts the thoughts of each character during their 20km run on race day, exceptionally moving.
《当我在谈跑步时，我在谈些什么》/ 走ることについて語るときに僕の語ること/ What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, I read it during the first few months, and it is honest and modest opinion from a renown writer. I recently read his article 《在美国跑步, 在日本跑步》，about the differences of running events in USA and Japan (but apparently things got real expensive these years).