A holiday wish for everyone

A little good health will take you a long way

My holiday wish for all of you is good health. If we’re going to achieve anything with this running habit of ours, we must first be physically able to run. It’s hard to make progress without consistency, and it’s hard to find consistency when we’re constantly battling injuries.  

Health for a runner is a tricky thing because we’re usually dealing with something, whether it’s tightness or soreness or that weird sensation in our foot we’re never quite sure about. In fact, part of being a runner is developing a high tolerance for pain.  

The art of running is knowing when to push through those uncomfortable moments and when to pull back. It’s not always easy to find that line because it always seems to be shifting. Especially as we age, the line between courage and stupidity often feels like it’s constantly moving in the wrong direction. 

Many of us run primarily because it benefits our health in a universal sense, both in body and mind. It feels especially cruel when it’s taken away from us because of an injury. How can something we love treat us so poorly in return? There’s no good answer for that because injuries are an inevitable part of every runner’s journey. 

Sometimes they happen because we push ourselves too hard. Hopefully, those experiences serve as cautionary tales. If we’re wise, we’ll learn to listen when our bodies are telling us they’re breaking down before they actually break down. 

Yet, sometimes they happen because we’re all at the mercy of fate. We roll our ankle on a pothole or throw out our back playing with our kids. Those types of injuries are often beyond our control, which doesn’t make them any easier to accept. 

What we do know is there are things we can control to help even out our odds. We can prioritize sleep and positive nutritional habits, like making sure we’re eating enough calories. We can also strengthen our muscles and keep our joints loose and flexible. 

Whether stretching helps or hinders running is a hotly-contested debate. Given a choice between flexibility and immobility, I’ll be over here in pigeon pose.

Come to think of it, wherever you find any type of “recovery modality,” you’ll also find a hotly-contested debate. One side will swear to its effectiveness, the other will find fault with the very concept. Both will have studies backing up their claims. 

If it feels good, do it, is the best advice anyone can give on the subject. If plunging in a cold tub or wearing compression socks makes you feel like you’re helping your body recover, then you probably are to some degree.   

Besides sleeping and eating enough, the one thing that we know works is giving ourselves a break when we need to, and even sometimes when we don’t. It can take a long time for runners to figure out that rest is as much a part of the training process as long runs and tempo intervals. That doesn’t make it any less true. 

Everyone’s running routine is slightly different, so it’s hard to give universal guidance on the matter of rest. But I will make an attempt. 

Try to give yourself one day off from running per week at a minimum. And then, every 3-4 weeks, cut back your weekly mileage by as much as a half if you’re training, and a third if you’re between sessions. 

Eat, sleep, and get plenty of rest because tomorrow we’re getting after it. Happy holidays everyone. Here’s to a healthy, happy, and peaceful new year.