Running is meditation

 I tie up my laces on my trainers and make to set off. Another 10k lies ahead of me. An hour of solace. An hour of not thinking at all. Well, there is some thinking to be done- the metronomic pounding of my feet on pavement. Something stops me in my tracks before I’ve even set off. My wrist feels empty. My watch is in my drawer instead of being strapped to my wrist. I do claim to be a minimalist, certainly a running minimalist but there are some things that I cannot run without. My watch is one of them. I’m happy to admit that I do want, no I need to know how far I have run. I need to know how fast I’m going, how many minutes I’m averaging. It might seem trivial but it’s important to me. 

As far as tech goes, beyond listening to my music through my phone, that’s about it. I’m wary about over cooking this but running, to me, is much more than times and having access to how many calories I’ve burnt. Running is the constant challenge to yourself. Aspects of every run are challenging- whether it’s a punishing incline after a flat trot around a reservoir or the mental wrestling match you play with your brain every time you feel too exhausted to continue. 

Running is a journey and I don’t just mean in terms of distance. I will usually set off, watch on wrist (!) and feel like a tin man, berating myself for not doing enough stretching or foam rolling at the end of my previous run. It takes me a while to settle in to a run and I’m looking to establish a rhythm early on. In fact, the embryonic stages of my runs are usually the most painful. In these moments I fear the rest of the journey such is the discomfort. If it’s painful now, what will it feel like after four, five or six miles? 

The answer is- nowhere near as bad. As my body settles into a rhythm, a metronomic feeling when my breathing, arms and legs are in sync, working in unison, the pain seems to disappear replaced by a calmer, serene focus on just the next few metres. My breathing slows to a calm, controlled rate, my eyes focus on a distant tree, then a telegraph pole, maybe an abandoned telephone box. I have for years maintained that this part of my runs feel hypnotic, meditative even. I am doing a whole lot of nothing. It’s like I’m sleeping with my eyes open. My brain is empty but empty in brilliant, glorious, technicolour. My body is breathing, my heart beating- they are looking after themselves. I’m pain free, I feel great, my brain isn’t thinking of work deadlines or my bank account. Running empties and fills my brain all at the same time. The cells undergo a defragmentation, relieving themselves of needless information and rearranging the important stuff. This emptiness, rearranging, limbs working in unison, is meditation- no wonder you feel so good after a run. 

Finally saw a deer in the wild!

 I always love running Entwistle and Wayoh Reservoirs. They have both flat and undulating sections and are set in beautiful countryside of my native Bolton. Tall trees survey your progress as you circumnavigate the two lakes. 

The great railway viaduct casts looming shadows onto the calm, still water below. I marvel at the fact that a structure nigh on 200 years old still stands strong. Despite the majesty though, I feel I must still complain. The water levels on both lakes were painfully low. I think on Entwistle they were doing some kind of restructuring work. I am unsure about Wayoh- maybe we simply haven’t seen that much rain recently. 

Even sadder than that was the great absence of trees around Entwistle. I have mentioned this previously. The trees that have been removed were suffering from some kind of infection and so had to be culled. It will take years before the area is back to its best. 

As for my run- I was overall satisfied with my efforts over an undulating, uneven 10km. Humid conditions seem to be trickier to run in that out and out heat. The connecting path between the two reservoirs is firstly a welcome downhill, but then on the way back from Wayoh back to Entwistle it represents a much trickier climb. Something that stopped me in my tracks though was the sight of a deer in the wild- something I had never seen before today  

Steven is an alcohol free runner. He has run 332 miles this year. 

I’m running ok… for NOW!

 

I’m not sure why I like taking pictures of my trainers when I’m about to start my run… but I do! Anyway so this is my first post on this blog for two years. I’m running well at the moment. For the last two to three months, I have been consistently running ten kilometres plus at least three times per week which is more reflective of the runner I would like to be. That runner is the pre 2014 me. I feel positive about my running. I’m a bit slow for my liking but I’m building the miles which, at the moment, is much more important than times. 

I have discovered a series of trails that have the right about of undulations to test me but at the same time are still manageable. I even ran 37 miles last week which I am very happy with as even during my peak running years would be a decent weekly amount. I cannot comprehend how much better I feel when I’m in the habit of running a decent distance regularly. It’s a real achievement for me to get back into this distance as I had fallen into running much shorter distances around my estate in the last few years. 

Predictably though, recently I have felt my calves getting tighter. I have several options to fix this though. Regular foam rolling- this will be fine once I build the habit. Secondly, I am due a new pair of trainers that will hopefully offer me the support I need. 

I don’t want to leave the above and then end up getting injured just when I am enjoying my running the most. That would be a real pity! Especially when I’m well on my way to achieving my revised target of 500 miles run for the year! 

Steven is an alcohol free runner and has run 307 miles so far in 2024. Follow him on X @sober_ste