Meditative Run

"Don't force your workouts. Run in the present, not how you ran 10 years ago or how you expect to run 3 months from now," Kim Jones, two time runner up, Boston and New York City marathons, as quoted in the Runners Training Log (Rodale Press, n.d.). Hot and tired this morning, I opted not to fight the fatigue. Instead I ran when I felt like it and walked when I didn't, and I did a lot of thinking.

Since April I've been working weird hours -- sometimes 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; sometimes 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.; sometimes 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. No matter what time I go to bed at night, I insist on rising by at least 7 a.m. My stubborn self demands some semblance of routine amidst the chaotic work schedule. And I have found that I can run well on five or six hours of sleep once, but 48 hours later I am sluggish and fatigued. Someone told me that our bodies operate on adrenalin when the schedule demands it, but then insists on a recovery period afterward.

Our bodies insist on homeostasis, a "relative constancy or equilibrium in the internal environment of the body. This balance is naturally maintained by adaptive responses that promote a healthy survival" (Regina M. Masters and Barbara A. Bylys, Introducing Medical Terminology Specialties, F.A. Davis: Danvers, MA., 2003).

And homeostasis cannot be maintained in a chaotic, stress filled life. So the body demands rest and relaxation after work and begs for routine. Routine isn't going to happen as long as I juggle two part-time jobs, but that chaos is a necessity for now. And while chaos reigns, my running ability will suffer.

I have to accept that. I have to run in the present and avoid forcing my workouts. And meditative run/walks do have one advantage; it's easier to pray and think when moving at a slower, restorative pace.