"Stripped of competitive trappings and bare of any other purpose, I discovered what it felt like to enter a dialogue with my own body. Any runner will tell you that while yes, competition technically does exist, the real race is mental, a battle to decide which self will govern you that day. Running, which had previously felt like a punishment or a chore, became its own wonderful reward."
"I run throughout the year, but after 20 years of reinforcement, the crisp amber light of a fall day is inextricably linked for me with the satisfying strain in my lungs, the build of lactic acid in my legs, and the growing sense of satisfaction for proving to myself, once more, that I can still do it. It's the privilege of the young and healthy to be careless with their bodies, and running can be especially rough on what holds a person together."
I began running at 14 after learning soccer fitness and joining neighborhood cross country. Running became a solo dialogue with my body and a mental contest where the real race is deciding which self governs. Running shifted from punishment to reward, with autumn runs producing the most memorable highs. Years of running linked fall light to lung strain, lactic build-up, and satisfaction at proving physical capability. Running imposes cumulative harm on knees, ankles, and back. In adolescence I ran intensely with poor nutrition, heavy ibuprofen use, little stretching, and ignored respiratory symptoms, yet continued without slowing.
Read at Defector
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]