Friday Ramble 10/22/21
This week: Cultivating fun, the power of squats, and a shoutout to a first-time marathoner.
I was out on my run the other day when I sensed something I haven’t felt in a while. Fun. Whether it was splashing through mud puddles on a service road or following the arc of the sun as it rose over a nearby pond, I was having a real good time.
It helped that I wasn’t pushing the pace or testing my limits. This was no time trial or mid-week workout. It was just me moving through the woods, racking up some easy miles, and getting back in touch with the rhythms and mechanics of running. What a delightful way to start a day.
That’s kind of the whole point of this, right? Beyond getting some exercise or trying to meet some arbitrary set of training requirements, running allows us the opportunity to get out of ourselves for just a few minutes to have some fun.
Don’t get me wrong. I derive a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment whenever I complete a particularly challenging run. There are few things more rewarding than coming up with a realistic set of goals and meeting that standard.
Yet, I think there’s a difference between enjoying something, even on a deeply profound level, and having plain old fun for no reason whatsoever. As we all know, fun is hard to come by these days, especially when we’re dealing with the daily stresses of life, work, parenting, or whatever else is competing for our attention.
After considering the circumstances that led to this fun run -- beautiful weather, rested body, general contentment with where I am as a runner -- I’ve come to the conclusion that the experience was both highly specific and totally random. I may have been due for a day like this, but that didn’t mean it would happen.
While enjoying your run may feel like a gift from the running gods, it also requires a bit of work and forethought. You can’t force yourself to have fun -- anyone who’s ever worked in an office knows the drudgery of mandatory fun with your colleagues -- but you can create the conditions that make it possible.
Here’s a couple of ideas: