This week, I finished phase 2 (of 2) of The Pump app’s “Next Level” training program. After the penultimate workout – a back-focus day – I walked out of the gym feeling a very satisfying pump in my lats, posterior delts and biceps. I breathed in the air and smiled as I looked up at the sun just starting to rise over the trees that line nearby Fort Loudon Lake. At that moment, I pondered the irony of how humans have created a struggle for themselves in the form of a gym in an attempt to recreate the daily activities of our ancestors who used to stay fit simply by surviving in the very wilderness I was admiring.
Indeed, in our world of automation and convenience, we have constructed meccas of hardship filled with weights that don’t actually need to be lifted and manual traveling machines that stay in one place. In our cushy modern world, we have to simulate the very hardships our ancestors couldn't avoid and we pay monthly membership dues for the privilege.
I, no doubt, enjoy the fruits of present-day innovation in many ways. I live in a modern home and drive a modern truck, both of which are equipped with comfortable seating and air-conditioning. I workout four days a week at the aforementioned gym and maintain my nutrition with groceries that I had to neither forage for nor hunt myself. I’ve recently programmed my kitchen’s Echo Show to turn on/off every light in my living room with a simple voice command. It’s convenient, makes me way more comfortable during my day and I have absolutely no desire to change any of it.
I do, however, find connection to my ancestral roots through at least one form of actual struggle.
Running
I only run outside.
I have serious beef with treadmills. While it’s nice to be able to set your desired pace and go crazy, fluctuating pace is way more natural. The flat base of a treadmill does little to replicate the varied inclines and declines our bodies are designed to navigate. The combination of these two elements creates an exercise that’s very unnatural and has the potential to alter your range of motion in an undesirable way. Furthermore, they’re just boring and extremely loud! I hate them.
Outside, there are no gym bros grunting and throwing weights around, there are no televisions streaming a constant barrage of cable television news at you and you (usually) don’t have to worry about a stranger deciding to run right beside you.
This isn’t to say that I don’t run with some modern conveniences. For starters, I’m currently wearing a pair of HOKA running shoes and I’d rather not say how much I paid for them. I also wear a Garmin GPS watch to help me track. And yes, I also share my run stats online afterwards with a combination of iOS and Instagram. Whatever.
Running Disconnects You (or At Least It Can)
When I started running, I wore headphones. They were wired, of course, as this was 11 years ago before Airpods were a thing. This allowed me to listen to music and hear the “ding” of my Runtastic app so I’d know when it was okay to walk. I later switched to listening to podcasts and eventually “story runs” that simulated zombie chases and fast treks through the woods while being chased by police. They were fun and all, but carrying my phone became too cumbersome. I hated carrying it in my hand and putting the phone in either my pocket or my pouch was stupid since the headphones cable was hardly long enough to withstand the tension. This is all to say, I have ran without my headphones or my phone for the biggest part of the last decade.
Even though I usually check my email before I start and snap a selfie when I’m done, it’s always quite nice to have that 20-60 minutes of no tech. In fact, I try to run as light as I can, so all I ever have on me is my truck key.
Running Strengthens Your Resolve
Not having the music or any other distraction while I’m out pounding the pavement wasn’t easy to get used to. Most runners will tell you they’ll do just about anything to focus on something other than how much running sucks while they’re on the trail. This, however, forced me to develop a kind of mental toughness that I didn’t realize I needed so much. It puts me in a difficult situation and I have to mentally pull myself through it.
Sure, when I get tired I can quit. I can stop anytime I want. But I also know that stopping early isn’t how you reach your goal. Stopping early will not make my 5K faster, won’t progress my program forward and will not benefit my fitness as much as pushing through. I’ve harped for years about how unreasonable it is for people to skip or otherwise alter their workout program, then complain when they do not get the desired results. I want that faster 5K, I want that fit physique, I want that mental toughness, so I push on.
Running Connects You With Your Spirituality
When I’m running, my mind is all over the place. I think about everything from what I’m cooking for dinner that night and what I had for breakfast that morning, to how I felt walking into the Colosseum in Rome and remembering the joy of seeing Katie in her wedding dress. Sometimes I sing songs in my head, other times I count my strides. I also do a lot of meditating.
In my unique form of spirituality, there’s life in nature. Energy is there, our ancestors are there and our gods are there. Being out for a run without the distraction of modern tech and only the sounds of struggle and nature surrounding you is the perfect time to connect with each of them. I ask Odin for wisdom, Thor for strength; I talk to my Gran about my wife (whom she never got to meet but would have loved) and about food; I ask the universe to spin life in a way that allows me time to take a nap tomorrow.
Running Boosts Your Confidence (Except When Your Run Sucks)
I think the greatest thing that running has done for me is showing me just what is possible when you push through difficulty and put in the work. I started running with a nine-week “Couch-to-5K” program through Runtastic, and while I completed the program successfully, I was still anxious when I lined up at the start of the Hot to Trot Thanksgiving Day 5K in Turkey Creek.
Regardless, despite my anxiety and uncertainty, even despite how desperately tired I was, I crossed the finish line having never stopped or even slowing to a walk. I had done it! I stuck with the program, dug in when it mattered most and showed myself that I was capable of doing something I didn’t really know I could do just 35:08 earlier. If I could do that, what else could I do?
In the time since, I have done more 5Ks than I can count (including two mud runs, a superhero run and a color run), a 10K and three half-marathons. The same guy who, at one point, couldn’t keep a running pace for more than 30 seconds.
There’s Also the Fitness Thing
Cardiovascular exercise is, of course, great for your heart, and the gods know I need all the help I can get keeping this ticker a-tickin’. Lately I’ve been running shirtless, which is something I said I’d never do. I’ve only recently gotten to the point where I’m confident enough with my physique to do so (partially thanks to running!) and realized I’m too old to care if someone thinks I’m a douchebag for it. It started out of necessity because of the oppressive heat and humidity here in summertime Tennessee, but I’ve also felt another sense of that primal self that’s been repressed for so long by smart phones and two-day delivery. It also makes me keep a decent tan and my hair stays sun-bleached, which Katie likes, so bonus points!
I hope this has shone light on all the other ways running is important for my personal self care. To recap:
It allows me to disengage.
It builds my mental strength.
It connects me with the spirit realm.
It gives me incredible confidence.
Would my ancestors, whose fight for survival in a rugged landscape was key to their existence, approve? Maybe, but it’s way more likely they’d think my GPS watch was a form of sorcery and subject me to a vicious blood eagle. I can’t imagine being 20 centuries behind the times and having to hear a softie with a nighttime skin regimen, a couch and a king-size bed talk about how hard his life can be.
-jtf
Headphone-less running, I feel seen.
I love the concept of thinking about our ancestors and what their daily physical life and problems looked like compared to our comfortable ones now... What a fresh perspective to start my day with. I'm definitely looking forward to fall hikes now, and this motivates me to schedule them like they are meetings and to never miss. I'm so proud of you for staying devoted to your training and leaning into your spirituality. <3