Nine Things I’ve Learned From Nine Years of Running
By: Brendan Kennealy
Tags: Running, Exercise, Dads, Health, Fitness

Nine Things I’ve Learned From Nine Years of Running

My running buddy Hazel, 3, and me.

On August 6, 2012, I downloaded a calorie-counting app, joined my local YMCA, and hopped on a treadmill for my first run. I was 28, almost 29, and I managed to walk-jog one mile in 14 minutes that day — a far cry from my 5–1/2 mile run around South Minneapolis this morning.

Today marks nine years since that first treadmill effort. Or 3,287 consecutive days of counting calories. Or 108 monthly payments for my gym membership. However you measure time — in days, months, years, or miles — running has been the real constant. A source of relief and pride, pain and frustration, surprise and joy. Here are some things (but surely not all the things) I’ve picked up along the way.

1) Races are fun but I don’t need them. Some people need a goal to work toward. Others love to compete. I’ve participated in a few races and I have enjoyed them, but what motivates me to run most days is not knowing what I’ll see when I head out the door. From blooming flowers to big swirling snowflakes to old sofas slouching by the sidewalk, I always look forward to taking in the scenery.

2) Running alone is easy and convenient, but running with a friend lifts my mood. Syncing up your schedule with another runner can cause a dang headache. And it’s never easy to find another body with the same needs as yours in terms of pace and distance. But seeing the sun rise over the river with another person there to share it, breathing hard and beating the same dirt trail as you? Pretty epic. Pretty sweet.

3) The reason you run will change over time. In 2012 a doctor told my former wife she couldn’t attempt IVF unless she lost weight. I started running to support her and so we could get fit together. Ultimately that did not work out. Our marriage did not survive and I did not become a father until I remarried years later. But running absolutely got me through a lot of hardship in those early years. I kept with it to relieve stress, to maintain my weight, and to see what I was capable of. And today? I run so my daughters will grow up thinking running is the most normal thing in the world. If they’re not intimidated by it like I was as a kid and young adult, maybe they’ll even try it.

4) The mental health benefits might be more important than the benefits to your physical health. I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV. I don’t know what kind of shape your heart and mind are in. But I do know that I’ve spent a lot of years worrying about my weight and my waist size instead of paying attention to how much easier it is to manage my mood and temper when I’m getting the exercise I need. Simply put, if I get out for a hard run in the morning, I just don’t have the energy to be mad or frustrated with my toddler when she wipes gobs of snot and melted chocolate on the furniture. I don’t want to be a Mad Dad.

5) You can always get faster, stronger, or better at distances — if you want those things. Stick with running long enough and you’re likely to find something you want to work on or improve. Your stride. Your breathing. Your climbs. Your cross-training. It’ll take hard work, some reading, disciplined weightlifting, and probably a few uncomfortable stretches. But you truly can work at a skill, develop it, and see results over time. Just remember to start small and add only a little at a time. Doing too much too soon or too fast is a good way to pull a hammy.

6) I’m not a sprinter. I’m not particularly great at long distances either — so far, I top out at the half-marathon distance. But I can tolerate almost any weather and run through nearly any pain or discomfort. I’ve been lucky, of course, to enjoy nine years of good health and no major injuries. In that time, the longest break I’ve taken between runs was six days for some foot pain that I ultimately decided to run through. I’m grateful to still be going.

7) Running a different route every time out is impossible, but rotating between routes, distances, and paces will keep you from getting bored. I prefer to start and end my runs at my front door, and there are only so many ways to run around a given neighborhood. That said, if I want to run south or north or slow or fast, I’ve got a dozen different 5-mile routes etched into the grooves of my brain. Running a familiar route I haven’t used in a while sometimes feels a bit like visiting an old friend.

8) Like walking, hiking, or cycling, running is a primo way to see and experience a new area. I’ve run along the north shore of Lake Superior, the Lakefront trail in Chicago, farm fields in the middle of North Dakota, the hills of Austin, Texas, mountains and rivers in Colorado, golf courses in Florida, and residential streets and trails all over the Twin Cities. There’s always something new to see, wherever you are, and you just might miss it in a car or on a bus.

9) Cars are dangerous and people can be inattentive. Practice caution at every intersection, every driveway, and every blind curve. Just because a driver stops and waves at you doesn’t mean it’s safe to cross.

BONUS: Some days it might feel impossible to find the time, the energy, or the motivation to lace up your shoes. Because running is hard. But you can do hard things, and running might even help you get through something harder — divorce, job loss, the loss of a loved one, the emotionally gripping final season of Breaking Bad. Rest days are important, but I almost always feel better after a run than I did when I started.