When I hear runners try to persuade others to start running, they tend to emphasize the physical benefits such as improving body mass, body fat, resting heart rate, maximum oxygen uptake, triglycerides, … you get the point.
Although the physical benefits are substantial, I believe the mental benefits of running far outweigh the physical benefits.
Perhaps the mental aspects of running are less discussed because they are harder to articulate, especially to someone who has never experienced them. By sharing my experience on a recent run I hope to provide a glimpse into the mental side of running and why it is so wonderfully rewarding.
Temptations before paradise
In 45 minutes I ran 5 miles through the suburb–which is much slower than usual–but my physical performance is not what I want to talk about.
What I want to talk about is the two temptations I encountered on that run and how overcoming them lead me to paradise (if only for a moment).
Temptation #1: turn back
I set out on my run with the goal of running 45 minutes at whatever pace felt appropriate.
However, when I checked my phone at 17 minutes, I wondered whether it was actually more appropriate to turn back and cut my run short. I had run yesterday, my knees were a little sore, I felt bloated, and numerous other justifications implored me to be reasonable and turn around.
Of course, being a runner I am intimately familiar with these complaints–they appear every run and sometimes every step–and usually recognize them for what they are: thoughts, always fleeting and often untrue.
If you are able to brush aside these worries, even once, you are able to see that there was no real danger. You might be a bit sore tomorrow, but you are okay. There is a large gap between pain and injury and an even larger one between discomfort and pain. You cannot become a long-distance runner without learning these truths.
Thankfully I was able to remember this truth and press on, which is a reward in itself, but there was still a greater reward to come on this day.
Temptation #2: memory lane
This temptation was of the symbolic sort and thus very dangerous.
While running through an unfamiliar area I came upon a street that shared a name with a woman I once loved. And earlier that day I had been thinking about another woman I once loved (what an odd coincidence!). The temptation to literally run down memory lane, as I had metaphorically earlier that day, was very tempting.
However, wisdom again prevailed and I decided to not turn down that street. I decided to run toward the future (which sounds corny, but it is what I literally said this to myself in my mind). Again, this exercise of good judgement was rewarding in itself, but another reward awaited.
Paradise
Not two streets beyond memory lane was a park I had never seen and it was a lovely scene. Lush fields of grass, a running trail with another runner on it (friendly nod), and a picnic bench with two women watching and laughing at something on their phone.
Some of you will say ‘a park is not paradise’, but I tell you there is nothing better than what I experienced during a few brief moments in the park (and I’ve done ecstasy). Love not only for the people, small creatures, and land before me, but for all things everywhere. And a deep sense of contentment made all the more poignant because it’s tinged with the knowledge this feeling won’t last.
Moments like these may happen more commonly with loved ones, but they can appear anywhere like a rose growing from concrete.
Many other great thinkers have touched on this idea that Heaven can be experienced during our lives such as Belinda Carlisle (ooh Heaven is a place on Earth), Bad Suns (Heaven is a place in my head), The Killers (feels like heaven ain’t far away), the disciple John (‘the dwelling of God is with humans’), and even Jesus himself (‘Thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven’).
Final lap
This was just a single example, but hopefully you see how running can be more than just exercise. Running is an opportunity to grow, to discover things about yourself, to remember things about yourself, to clarify things about yourself, to get back on track.
That said, it can still suck, even fully knowing all this, so why not make it easier to get going by listening to some of the Top 500 best-selling albums of all time!