Running is one of the most convenient ways to stir, to feel satisfied from yourself, to free yourself from the redundant nervous tension and to get rid of the emotions in excess. Of course, an additional bonus is the beautiful shape you get, but this is only a “side effect”.
Actually the motivation of running is most important. Before we engage in this sport, it is good to have a clear answer to the question “Why am I running?”. It depends from the answer how are we going to feel during the run and how often are we going to do this. If I run only because of my aim to loose weight, this is not a strong enough motivation for me, which means that when I am running, I would say to myself all the time that I just have to endure this until I get rid of the unwanted kilograms, so in this situation there is no way for me to feel joy from running, I will feel only tension. In this case when I reach the kilos I want, I will stop running, because I don’t need it anymore. Or I will quit even earlier, because I am doing the whole thing by force.
But when a person runs, because he feels how running helps him to overcome himself, to teach himself will and discipline, he feels how the stress from the working day goes away or how he gets abundant energy and vitality for the new day – well, this really means right motivation, pleasure and guaranty for regular trainings.
Me personally, I really hated running for so many years. I still remember when we had those physical norms at school, which horrified me, especially the running! I didn’t understand what was the reason of all this. Moreover, when I was training karate, in summer we regularly had to run on the stadium as a warm-up, as well as running on the beach when we had karate training camps. And this was the most horrible part for me! I even remember how in order to loose some weight, I went running with my mother, but this activity was so unpleasant for me, that I did this exactly 2 times and then I left my mum run alone. I said to myself that probably running is just not my thing and there is no sense for me to torture myself like this.
Years later I had a dispute with a friend of mine on the topic running. He explained me how he runs every single day at least for 40 minutes and how this brings him tremendous joy, gives him energy, helps him bare the stress in his everyday life and how he uses running as a form of active meditation, which has a very positive impact on his inner peace. Moreover, he was explaining with such an enthusiasm how wonderful it is to run in a marathon! When I heard this, I was terrified. I didn’t understand how there can be a person who loves such a boring activity so much! And of course I said my favorite word “never” – I would never go running every day as a crazy person!
Well, several weeks later I got an invitation to join a group running in the park to do some rounds. It seemed interesting, so I decided to give it a try. And actually it turned out to be very pleasant activity to run together with other people. And the most beautiful part of it was that there was no competition between all the runners, but each of us ran as much as he could and as much as he wanted. And when faster runners pass you by, they encourage you to continue running, so you get such a nice feeling… In the end I was really tired, but I was so satisfied with myself, because I truly succeeded in feeling the joy that running can bring you. So I decided that maybe it is a good idea to give running a chance.
I tried running in my quarter on the small streets between the blocks – disgusting! I endured this only a couple of days, because all the time I had to evade cars and be aware of all people walking around.
In addition, it was really unpleasant for me, because I was the only crazy lady, who was running between the blocks, so everyone was staring at me strangely or at least I thought so. After several days I just quit all those attempts, because this activity was no longer giving me energy, it was just making me more nervous. Then a friend of mine gave me the idea that not very far from my block there is a little park, where other people also go running. Well, I had to walk for 20 minutes on foot until I reach the park and at the beginning I thought that this idea is not good at all, but in the end I decided to give it a try and it turned out to be something very good.
So step by step I fell in love with running. With practice I realized that it really helps me concentrate. In the days I haven’t been running, I don’t feel very well sitting on one place and it is difficult for me to sit and study or write for longer time. But when I’ve spent all my redundant active energy, I am much more balanced and it is much easier to focus on the important things, without being distracted. When I put on my training suit and my sport shoes I start feeling inner joy from the fact that I am doing the right thing for me. And after the run, even if it is only 5 minutes, I feel satisfied with myself.
The thing that maybe I like the most about running, is the balance of emotions. In principle I am a very emotional person and even the tiniest thing that is not as it has to be according to me, can make me furious, bring me into bad mood, mumbling, cry, self pity and many other “beauties”. It is the same with overexcitement – you are so happy about something, that you can’t sit still, which is also a very serious lack of balance. When I run, I feel how all those abundant emotions just go into the Earth and I free myself from them. It is very often the case that before running I don’t feel quite well, and after the training I have enthusiasm and a positive view of life. And even if there was some kind of problem before, which seemed to me so difficult to be solved, after I’ve given my brain such a rest, it is as if the solution comes by itself.
I’ve also tested running with very tough emotional states – the times when there is such a pain within you, that you just don’t want to get up from bed. When the emotional state is so tough, of course there is no way that one run fixes everything, but the regular liberation of those emotions trough running helps me a lot to get on my feet faster and to bear the whole situation much easily.
So this is my story with running. Today there is still a chance that I miss training, but this helps me realize right away what important part plays running in my life. Joy, positive view of life, emotional balance, energy and self confidence – this is the beauty of running!
