Welcome to my newsletter 'Never not [thinking about] running.' A newsletter about running and mental health. In today's newsletter, I'll talk about the inevitability of autumn and how to make the best of it.
Every other day, I meet up with a friend from the neighborhood to go for a jog. We are both fathers, so during autumn and winter, there is only one topic of conversation: which kids are healthy and which ones are sick, and how long we have been battling a cold ourselves. (To be honest, the rest of the year is spent discussing pulled muscles and back problems)
“Are you feeling well?”
And these discussions usually determine our jogging schedules. "Are you feeling well? Or do you have that nasty cold too? - No? Then let's go for a run tonight. Who knows when we'll have the chance again."
These conversations are beneficial. We vent our frustrations and receive empathy in return. That is important, but on the other hand, all this complaining doesn't really accomplish anything. It is a situation in life that we cannot change, and without kids, we would probably be only slightly less frequently sick.
So, what can we do?
Those who read the last newsletter, in which I already complained just a little bit, might be surprised. It's not that different. A situation we can't change. Nothing dramatic. An unpleasant situation. So, let’s make the best of it. Look at the positive aspects.
But that is often difficult for me. Autumn arrives, bringing cold, darkness, and rain. It's annoying. The kids are sick again. So, I can already plan the next cold for myself. That's annoying too.
“Embrace your illness!”
However, these days it is actually different. The cold that the kids brought home is annoying, but the break from running is good for me. Just putting my feet up and resting in the evening is not so bad, and there are few races happening anyway, so I don't have to be frustrated. Instead of bundling up in rain gear in the evening, I can sit on the couch with a clear conscience or watch some TV. And it's even for a good cause.
After a few days, the desire to go for a run increases. The craving. Because what we often forget is that breaks are good for our running too. Clearing our minds, thinking about something else. Of course, we can also overcome motivational slumps by running, but this works too. And it's much more relaxed. In the end what I want to say is, as long as it's just a cold, a small break doesn't really matter. One week, two weeks without running won't ruin your statistics or your fitness, so stay calm.
And by the way. How is it possible to run those streaks? Running every day at least a mile? And how can one benefit from that? Are you doing streaks?
Recommendation
I’m a big fan of Australian ultrarunner Lucy Bartholomew. I like her attitude, her way of speaking about things like mental health or body positivity, how she handles social media and so on. Her father was always a big factor in her running-story and this year he tried to run the Western States 100. Salomon made a very moving film about this.
Housekeeping
Yeah. This text doesn’t come out of nowhere. I have been ill the last week, but Saturday I was able to do a short 7k-run. Felt ok, but I’ll need some time to fully recover.
The end:
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Lucy's Dad.... just wonderful! <3
Ah, those waves of disease than come with having a kid in school... I'm past that now, but I feel your pain. But I take "embrace your illness" a different way — sickness can be an opportunity for an adversity run, where you can learn/practice how to keep going when things aren't great. Plus, running fixes things, and I almost always feel better after than before.
As a streaker, I'd turn your question around and ask how it's possible to keep running in the long term without having a streak (or a set of streaks) to tend to... I'm lazy and I procrastinate and if I didn't have some non-negotiables in my running, I doubt I'd still be doing it.
Thanks for sharing "Lucy's Dad" — it is very well done.