Running for Life: Dealing with the highs and lows

Oh running, how do I love thee…ok ok barf. Sorry. I guess it’s obvious that I must really love running to write and share about it constantly. Like all relationships, running comes with some amazing highs and some disappointing lows.

It’s still a little crazy to me how much I love running. Not just because it seems like something only crazy people love, but because of how I started. If you’ve been hanging on with me for awhile, you might remember that I could barely get through the mile in school. I’m also a Taurus and we like to dig our heels in, so I debate myself on how hard I really tried, after all I did play sports and didn’t hate gym class. When it came time for the mile though? Nope, I wanted no part of it.

Now, there’s nothing like a good run to start my day off right. Running has brought me so many wonderful things (Related: Why Do I Run?) but it’s also made me doubt myself. It’s given me some awesome goals and great experiences, but also some disappointments. And thus begin my thoughts on how to survive this rollercoaster and be a lifelong runner.

The Highs and Lows of Racing

I’m not sure everyone realizes this but…you don’t have to race to be a runner. It’s what a lot of us do, because we think it’s fun to pay someone for that kind of torture, but it’s not for everyone and that’s ok!

Those of us that do race have had a real bummer of a year with everything being cancelled. It was recently announced that the Big Sur Marathon would not be taking place in 2021 either, and this hit me hard. I’d been planning to run that as it’s super close to my 40th birthday. It was going to be a big challenge race for me and a trip to see some friends. Even thinking and planning for it was such a high now turned low.

A cancelled race or a disappointing result in a race can really put a damper on things. I’ll admit I’ve been a little depressed this year and also cranky after races didn’t turn out like I’d hoped. The highs of the ones that meet or exceed expectations, more than make up for it though. That feeling of accomplishment just can’t be beat.

So, let those highs carry you and if you don’t want to race, let the feeling of accomplishment from running the farthest you’ve ever gone, or having the best run ever get you over the times when you feel like you’re running through quicksand.

The Lows of Injury

Getting injured sucks. There’s no other way to put it. Harder still, is knowing that you need to stop running while you heal. Us runners aren’t so great at resting (related: Rest). Anyway, talk about a real low when you have sit back and watch your friends run, while you’re nursing whatever malady has overtaken you.

The important thing to remember about injuries, is that they happen to just about everyone at some time. My good friend Amy broke her shoulder just months before her very first Iron Man. She was understandably devastated but you know what? The next year she came back strong and heard those words “Amy, you are an Iron Man!” Let the motivation of what’s to come give you strength and healing vibes. That’s really about all you can do.

Setbacks

Setbacks of all kinds happen. Between work, family, and life in general most of us can’t exactly make running our #1 priority, as much as we might like. Sometimes there’s a family emergency and you have to cancel a race. You might have had a big expense come up that forces you to cancel travel plans for the race you’ve been dying to do. It happens and it’s hard.

I don’t want to be like your mom here and say “Well, sweetie life is hard.” It is hard, but running is also one thing that makes it tolerable for many of us, so when running disappoints, well…it’s extra hard. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t had many real setbacks, but when I’ve had something small come up, or gotten a bad cold that kept me down for a time I tell myself that this was all just nature’s way of telling me to slow it down for a beat. I have yet to come back in a worse position than I was before taking a break.

The thing about running is it will be there waiting for you when you are ready. Sure, if you’ve taken an extended period of time away you may not come back at top performance, but you’d be surprised how quickly the body remembers. And the thing that keeps me coming back time and time again, is knowing that there will be another high around the corner if I’m just willing to work and maybe wait for it.