THE running tips!

Did you see my (perhaps annoying) running tips on Instagram?  Did you take issue with any of them?  Did you want a bit more information on any of them?  Well look no further!  Here's a complete list of THE running tips (copyright Doug McAbee 2023, of course) with a few extra words tossed in:

1. Start today.  Tomorrow never comes.  Put on your shoes and go run.  Now.  You will never regret running.

2. Your brain is 100% of your run.  Yes, you CAN run that mile.  Yes, you CAN breathe.  Yes, you CAN go a little further.  Control your brain and you’ll control your entire body.

3. Don’t walk.  It’s cheating.  You’ll confuse your body.  If you keep stopping, you body will expect to stop.  It’s called “running” for a reason.  Don’t walk.  However, if you are starting out from never running it's totally cool and perhaps even a good idea to walk a bit.  Try a 30 minute work out.  Set a timer for 30 minutes.  Run .5 miles and then walk until the timer goes off.  Keep stretching that running distance each workout until you're running the whole time.

4. Run every day.  It’s not bad for your knees.  It’s not bad for your body.  These are excuses made by people who do not run.  No one cares what they think anyway.  Seriously, don't take running advice from anyone who doesn't run.

5. Drink water.  Not chemicals.  You don’t need that sports drink or additives to your water unless you’re running a marathon.  You know what’s in water?  Water.  Especially if you live in the country.  Water is good for your body.  

6. Eat smart.  If it makes you feel bad when you run, it’s bad for you.  I know you love ice cream.  Me too.  But it makes you feel terrible the next day.  That means your body is not easily processing it.  Let it go.  If you can’t let it go, minimize it.  Decrease your fried food intake.  Decrease your sugar intake.  You will feel better, look better and BE better.

7. Never drink another carbonated beverage.  Soft drinks are absolute poison.  Cut them out of your life completely and see how much better your body feels.  Do it today.  

8. Get good shoes.  Shoes impact every part of your body when running.  This is basically the only expense related to running.  Try on the good ones.  Splurge.  (I was happy to be corrected by my female running friends.  If you're female, please get a couple of good quality, perhaps even expensive running bras.)

9. Run outside.  Don’t pay to run in a gym.  Find a trail or route that is safe and run outside.  Breathe the air.  Listen to the trees.  Seriously, that fresh air is a major part of why running is healthy.  Your lungs will thank you.

10. Music is a distraction.  I know all you can hear is yourself gasping for air.  Don’t use headphones, earbuds or anything.  Just listen to what is around you.  You will learn to be in your head and it will be the healthiest thing you’ve ever done.  Full disclosure, it took me almost 30 years of running to be able to run without music but I'm so happy that now I only hear natural sounds.  Please try it.

11. Really?  Every day?  Yes.  Even when it’s raining, snowing, hot or cold.  Being truly committed to something difficult will change your life.  Show me someone with an extensive running streak and I'll show you someone you can depend on when things get tough.

12. Running will change your life for the better.  You will be healthier physically and mentally.  It may change how you look but the most important part of running is how it will change how you act, think and feel.

13. People will like you better if you run.  This has nothing to do with how your body looks.  Yes, running will make your skin/face glow but it will also make you more relaxed and better able to deal with stress.  This will make you nicer, kinder and more pleasant to be around.  

14. It’s ok to wash your running clothes with your regular clothes.  Some people will tell you it’s gross but if your laundry doesn’t stink, you’re fine.  I took a lot of heat for this one but I stand by it without smelling gross.  In fact, I usually smell like detergent.

15. Take care of your feet.  That means, wash them every day and trim your nails properly and regularly.  Not sure if you know how to trim nails properly for running?  Google it.  Happy feet, happy runner.

16. Don’t wear your running shoes to do anything other than running.  They’re running shoes, not walking shoes.  Treat them as if they are special.  Putting them on is a treat because it means you get to go running.  Quality running shoes should be good for 300-500 miles.  When you retire a pair, keep them for rainy day runs or wash them well and use them for daily wear sneakers.  Better yet, donate them!

17. If you have to drive somewhere to run, fine, but if possible, run by starting at your front door.  You’ll have fewer excuses if you just have to walk outside to run.  Need to do a quick run because you’re late?  No problem, just go outside.  Think it might storm?  You’re close to home.  Maybe it’s not your everyday route, but a home route is great for success.

18. Unless you’re on a team or trying to outdo your neighbor, running isn’t a competition.  Running is a contest between your body and your mind.  Leave the others out of it on a daily basis.  If you want to race someone, cool, do that occasionally.  Your regular runs need to be between you and you.  This is an individual sport and you're only competing with a past version of yourself.  

19. Progress is never a straight line.  You will have a good run followed by a terrible run.  It means you’re human.  Some days your legs will feel like concrete.  Keep running.  Want to know how you’ll feel after completing a bad run?  Amazing.  Exactly the same as you feel after completing a good run.

20. Running doesn’t get easier.  You get better.  Running is hard.  Don’t lie to yourself and think it will be easy one day.  If it’s easy, you’re probably doing something wrong.  It will always be hard, but when you’re in shape, eating well and taking care of yourself, you’ll be so much better at it.

21. You can run faster.  Your body will naturally settle into routines that feel safe.  You’ll get a normal pace and your body will want to run that every day.  That’s fine, but if you want to get faster, you CAN run faster.  Try it.  Start sprinting for a few seconds then run normal pace again.  Keep doing that and increase the intervals.  

22. You should run first thing every morning.  Within an hour of waking up, your run is done and you’ve already accomplished more than most people will during that day.  You don’t have to think about it again until the next day.  If you must run at another time, do what works for you but a “first thing in the morning run” is always the best idea.  Full disclosure:  I was in my 40s before I could even entertain the idea of a morning run but I'm so glad I made the switch.  You will see a difference in your brain activity after a morning run.

23. Run on vacation.  The best way to explore a new place is by running the streets.  You’re going to want to eat unhealthy food and be extra lazy on some vacations.  Running will help to offset those tendencies.  Keep in mind that you GET to run so it's not something you'll want a vacation from.

24. Running makes you smarter.  There’s science to this but just on a common sense level your brain will benefit from the increased blood flow and from having time to think things through in your head.

25. Running is NOT punishment.  Running is something you GET to do.  You don’t need to run because you ate a doughnut or because you had a beer.  You need to run because you can!  To celebrate what your body is capable of doing.  Running is a gift.

26. Something hurts.  No it doesn’t.  If you focus on every little ache and pain, those will become bigger issues.  If the pain is actually excruciating and makes you limp or change your running form, you should stop.  If the pain gets increasingly worse and causes you to change your running form, you should see a doctor.  If your foot, hip, back, shoulder, toe, calf, thigh, or butt hurts after you run, that’s just normal.  Keep running.

27. You run with your brain.  Focus on the positive.  If you’re counting every step, thinking about how terribly hot it is or thinking you’re dying, you’ll have a terrible run and you’ll likely stop.  Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be able to walk, much less run?  Do you have any idea how lucky you are to be healthy enough for exercise?  Focus on everything that is going well and your run will go well. 

28. You’re not dying.  You don’t have to worry about breathing.  If you’re not really getting enough oxygen, you’ll pass out and while you’re on the ground, you’ll breathe normally again.  It really only feels like you’re dying when you’re starting out.  No lie, when I started running again in my late 20s my out loud mantra was "don't die, don't die, don't die" because I felt like I was dying.  The truth is, we're all dying.  Eef Barzely wrote, "Death is just the moment when the dying ends."  Ponder that on your run.

29. Sweat is sexy.  It makes you more attractive.  I have zero evidence to support this claim, but it’s not like you’re going to fact-check a statement you read on Instagram anyway, right?  Just go with it.  Embrace your sweat and be proud that you worked so hard.  Actually, if you care, there is scientific evidence to support this claim.  Feel free to fact-check it.

30. You are a runner.  There’s no such thing as a runner’s body or a person who just isn’t designed to run.  If you are physically able to run, you’re a runner.  Just go run and see.

31. No one cares if you’re slow.  No one cares if you’re fast.  People care that you have a healthy heart and body.  Just run.  Do you know how far a 5K is for slow runners?  Exactly as far as it is for fast runners.  Run and be proud of what you did.

32. No one cares what you look like when you run.  Maybe you run like a zombie.  Maybe your legs swing way out.  Maybe you make terrible faces.  You’ll be healthy enough to outlive everyone who may notice.  

33. If it was easy, everyone would be running.  Easy is the couch.  Easy is obesity.  Easy gets winded walking up the stairs.  Easy has a lot of doctor appointments.  Do the hard thing.  Go for a run.

34.  Runners are THE MOST encouraging and supportive humans on the planet.  This is fact.  The people I have met through running are smarter, kinder and healthier than most people, but they are all super-supportive.  Get you some running friends.  I'll volunteer to be your first one.  Then go on Instagram and find a few aspirational running friends and watch your life improve.

Of course I have to add the disclaimer:

These tips are my personal opinions based on 30+ years of running.  I am not a medical professional nor am I a running coach.  I'm just a guy who has logged over 14,000 miles running since 2010.  You may disagree with my advice but I practice what I preach.  Happy to discuss.  Go run!

what i learned from not running

So Friday I met with the surgeon again.  He looked at his calendar and said, "So we are about 5 weeks out from surgery."  Knowing that 6 weeks is the magic number for running, I spoke up..."5 1/2" weeks!"

This guy is great.  He's very smart and very positive and he didn't kill me.  He smiled immediately understanding my angle.  He asked some questions, checked me out and gave me his blessing to run.  My internal soundtrack played Beethoven's Hallelujah Chorus all the way to my truck.  

I tried to wait until it cooled off to run but in August in South Carolina it doesn't really cool off unless there's a thunderstorm.  And let's face it, there was no way I wasn't going to run that day.  So I laced up and started out the door.  To say I was slow would be an understatement.  We joke at school about "slogging" (slow jogging) but this was a couple of degrees slower than that.  

And it felt so great.  So great.  I mean, it hurt and it was hot and humid and the sun was beating down on my bald head but I was smiling and laughing and happy.  It was amazing.  I know that makes zero sense.  Just trust me, it was wonderful.  

Our house has two flights of pretty steep stairs and my jelly thighs have cried audibly on each step for the last three days.  The soreness goes away, but the joy does not.  I'm so happy to be running again.  

A while back I posted some thoughts about what I learned from running.  As I've been not running for 5 1/2 weeks, I've been trying to pay attention and I may have noticed some things worth sharing.  Here's what I've got:

Sometimes Slow Is Good
I am goal oriented.  When I leave the driveway I want to get to wherever I'm going as quickly and efficiently as possible.  When I walk somewhere, I move with purpose and heaven forbid you walk slow in front of me.  I've discovered that time is valuable and I do my best to not waste it.  When I was forced to spend my summer slowing down I realized that when you move too fast you miss some things.  First of all, spider webs are much easier to see when you're walking slow.  I still got a few webs on me during my morning walks near the trees but I didn't take any whole webs to the face like I do when I'm running.  I noticed birds and plants and sounds that I normally race by.  There's a lot of beauty that I can miss when I'm moving too fast.  But we know this isn't about actual speed.  This is about walking with my kids every morning for the last few weeks and realizing they were babies yesterday and today they're almost teenagers.  Slow down.  Enjoy the seconds.

Listen To Your Body
It felt cheesy even typing that.  Such a cliché thing to say, right?  As a runstreaker, I mostly ignore minor aches and pains and simple setbacks like pneumonia, the plague and body parts falling off.  I would just get up and run regardless.  I was very lucky and I hope to have another long streak of luck and good health, but I hope I will listen a little more carefully to my body.  During recovery I went from that awkward "not being able to walk to the bathroom by yourself" stage to the "I'm not sure if I should do that stage" and now I'm still in the "lets try that and see if it hurts stage".  Each day was a new adventure in what I'd be able to do.  Sometimes there was a physical twinge or ache that let me know this wasn't happening.  Other times is was more of a gut feeling that something was a bad idea.  After I was feeling much more mobile and flexible I walked out to the front porch with my herd of hummingbirds and positioned myself in front of the hammock.  I stood there and thought about attempting to lie down in the hammock but I just knew that it wasn't a good idea.  My body was saying, "Dude, you know this is not going to end well."  Even a couple of weeks later when I finally got in the hammock I had to get G to help me get out.  Your body is smart, you'd be smart to listen.

I'm Not Easy To Live With
Can I get an amen?  If G reads this there's a good chance that no matter where you live on this planet, you'll hear her agree with this one.  I'd love to go on with my life believing that it's everyone else that is unbearable.  They can't drive, they can't push a buggy down a grocery store aisle correctly, they can't put their phones down, they can't control their children and they can't stop all the stupid things from coming out of their mouths.  But the truth is, I like things the way I like them and I think everyone else should like them that way too.  Failure to do so results in me thinking you're an idiot.  This makes me difficult to live with.  Or difficult to drive in front of.  Having to face this head on recently has hopefully helped to open my mind to the possibility that there may be more than one way to do things.  And maybe I can try to be nicer.  Maybe.

Running Friends Are The Best
Remember when I said this was one of the things I learned from running?  Well, running friends are not fair-weather friends.  When my running friends from around the world heard that I was forced to halt my streak, they rose up with support and encouragement.  Messages rained down on me from everywhere.  People who had never communicated with me before sent support and kindness.  It was moving.  And then some of them took up my miles for me.  Dominic, Lei and Ursa all ran at least 5K every day for the 36 days I was off.  Crazy!  These people amaze me.  Maybe running makes you really, really nice.  

Perspective Is Important
I remember when my 10th grade English/Lit teacher taught us about story.  She put a lot of emphasis on the idea that the same story can be told several different ways if you tell it from several different points of view.  Each person had a different perspective and it could totally change the story.  It would have been easy to look at my experience as a bad thing that messed up my running streak.  I could have cried nonstop about not feeling good and not being 100%.  I could have whined (more than I did) about not being allowed to run for 36 days and this would have been a bummer of a story.  There would have been no lesson there.  But if I choose to have a different perspective, if I choose to find the positive points in each day, then this becomes a happy story with much to learn.  I'm not saying I'd throw my hand up to volunteer to go through this again, but I'm a better person for going through the experience.  I've gained new friends and felt love and kindness from older friends.  And I was able to realize just how important running is to me.  We choose the story we tell.  

thoughts from a streaker

 

On July 12 I ended my 6 year, 2 month running streak of running 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) every day.  You can read why in the previous post.  It was not my idea and I wasn’t very happy about it but this doctor is one of the good ones and I trust his judgment enough to follow his orders of not running at all for 6 weeks.  I have to admit, 6 years was a pretty good streak and I know I was all kinds of lucky to get that far.  And you’d think that 6 years of that kind of running would teach a person a few things.  I guess we’ll see.  The things that come to mind are listed below for your edification.

You are a runner

About 4 years into my 5K everyday streak I finally referred to myself as “a runner” for the first time.  I’m hesitant to give myself titles.  OK, I know I often give myself titles like “The Pope Of Waffles” or “The Pope Of Sand Sculpture” but that’s just my goofy humor.  I’d really like to be the actual Pope but I like Georgie and I’m Baptist and all.  Anyway, I didn’t really consider myself a “real” runner because I didn’t have lots of running stuff and I didn’t read running magazines.  I just ran.  My running clothes are just whatever shorts are on sale at TJ Maxx and maybe an old t-shirt in the winter.  I may get my armband for my phone there too.  I’m a little more picky about my shoes and socks but I’ve got plenty of socks from TJ Maxx or Marshalls.  I don’t go to running stores, I don’t read running books and in real life I don’t talk about running much at all.  I was convinced I wasn’t a real runner.  But I ran more than a lot of real runners and apparently I was faster than many of them too.  The more I learned about other runners, the more I realized I was a runner too.  Once I got over that mental hurdle I realized that everyone who runs is a runner.  Once a week?  Once a month?  Once a year?  Did you go outside and run one time?  You’re a runner.  A real runner. 

It’s all in your head

Do you think you can run a mile?  If you do, you can.  Do you think you can run a half marathon?  If you do, you can.  Whatever excuse you can think of right now, it’s total crap.  You’re not too heavy.  You’re not too old.  You’re not too weak.  You’re not too anything.  If you think you can do it, you can.  I’ve watched people run a 5K with zero training.  I’ve known people who ran half marathons on a whim with no training.  But the flip side is also true, if you think you can’t, you absolutely cannot.  Your mind is the strongest part of you.  It’s stronger than your muscles, stronger than your legs, stronger than that hill in front of you.  If you tell your body you can do it, your body will listen.  I would bet there’s actual scientific verification of this but I can tell you that 6 years of continuous 5Ks do not happen unless you tell yourself every single day that you can do it.  Trust me on this.  Tell yourself you can and you will.

Running will make it feel better

One of the things about a run streak of any kind is the daily temptation to not run.  You wake up and can’t breathe and the logical part of your brain says, “yeah, you shouldn’t run today.”  Or you have that weird tightness in your hip.  The sore back is a good one too.  Everyone around you who is not on a running streak tells you that you should probably take a day off.  But you’re stubborn.  So you get up and blow your nose and stretch your back and you run.  And guess what?  You feel better.  The sinuses clear out after a mile and you can breathe better than ever before.  Your hip loosens up and your back feels great because one of the best things you can do for your body is use it.  And it’s not just endorphins tricking you, you actually feel better the rest of the day.  And this is not just a physical remedy, it also works mentally and emotionally.  That jerk that pissed you off at work all day?  A run will fix it.  All the work you have due at the end of the week?  A run will help.  There is actually science to back this up and it has to do with increased blood flow to the brain and it does really help.  Whatever you got, running may not fix it completely, but it can make it feel better.

Running (and coffee) saves lives

Related to the one above, that increased blood flow to the brain will help you not want to punch that person in the throat quite as much.  It will make you not want to run that ridiculous driver off the road.  This was not as obvious to me when I was running as it is now that I’m not running but let me tell you, today I have wanted to punch at least 3 people in the throat.  I’ve wanted to run no less than 5 people off the road because they haven’t the slightest clue how to drive.  And I’m in a good mood.  Things are great.  But I still need running to even me out.  I don’t even want to think about what could happen if I didn’t have my coffee!

Meditation

Running is a solo activity for me.  I run every day alone.  It’s a good 25 minutes of quiet time and it’s amazing.  During that time my mind wanders.  I solve most of the world’s problems by the end of mile 1.  I’m not afraid to confess to you that I spend a good bit of my running time talking to myself or to God.  Not out loud, I’m not completely insane, but there are definite conversations.  You may call this prayer or meditation or whatever fits your particular belief system, that’s cool with me.  For me, it’s a time of remembering the things that are important to me and thinking about the people I know who are struggling.  If I know you personally whether we’ve met in person or if we only know each other through the interwebs, there’s a good chance you’ve been mentioned during this time.  Regardless of your thoughts on God, this is good energy and it’s a good thing to be a part of it.  Of course, prayer or meditation is not just about asking for favors.  It is a great time to express gratitude.  Few things help you see your own blessings more effectively than thinking of your friends who are walking in valleys.  My beliefs tell me that prayer is good for me because it puts my heart where it needs to be, refocusing me on others instead of on myself.  Running gives me that time and it helps to point my heart outward. 

Easy is bad

These last two weeks not running, I’ve noticed how easy it is to not exercise.  In addition to running each day, I also partake in an exercise routine called PiYo, a combination of Pilates and Yoga.  Each night before bed I also do a series of strength and stretch exercises.  These last two weeks I’ve slept a little later and not worried about the weather or temperature when I wake up.  I haven’t had to wait an hour to have my morning coffee.  When I’m sleepy, I just go to bed.  It’s so easy.  But I feel so bad.  I feel like I’m skipping something important.  I’m not as flexible as I was two weeks ago.  My feet hurt.  My knees creak when I walk up the stairs.  I’m not burning off my calories and I feel like an inflatable pool float.  I feel like I’m rusting.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not lying in bed all day watching Netflix.  I’m moving and getting some walking miles in each day, but it’s not the same as a good workout and my body feels the difference.  People joke with me all the time about being so proud of not running unless something is chasing them or how much happier they are eating chips instead of exercising but I don’t buy it.  The only thing better than the feeling of exercising is realizing you have the willpower and determination to make yourself exercise even when you don’t want to.  That’s a great feeling.  That willpower and determination carries over into every aspect of your life.  A running friend is fond of saying “I can do hard things” and when you realize you can, you see just how bad easy things are.

Running friends are the best

Speaking of running friends, let’s talk about those for a minute.  Some of my running friends I see in person from time to time and even run with them once a week during school.  Other running friends I may email or text with and honestly we mostly don’t talk about running.  Then there are the other running friends, the ones on Instagram that I’ve never met but I feel such a connection with because of our shared passion and insanity.  All of them understand something about the ridiculousness of waking up and thinking that running several miles outside is a good time.  They all understand what it means to put your desire for fitness and good health above your desire to be lazy.  They know that first mile is a liar and that you have to save something for that last hundred yards.  They know bright colored running shoes make you faster.  They understand the joy of tall, nonsensical socks.  We get each other because we are all the same kind of crazy.  But they also sense when you are in a rut or are feeling out of sorts and they are some of the first people to come in with encouragement.  They know what a bad run feels like and they know how to dispel discouragement.  My friend Catherine lives across the world and we’ve ran together on birthdays.  My friend Beth who “can do hard things” demonstrates daily how to get literally everything done and is such an encouragement.  I even have two friends, Dominic and Ursa who felt so bad for me not being allowed to run that they decided to run my 5K every day for me.  Can you even imagine?  I am blown away by these people on a daily basis.  I am grateful for running friends near and far.

You are inspiring

These friends inspire me to keep getting up and getting those miles.  Just knowing that people are getting up and getting over their own obstacles helps me see that I can get over mine as well.  If they can run, I can too.  I’ve had a couple of people tell me that they got out and ran because they saw me doing it.  They’re out making big changes in their lives just because they were inspired.  Just this week a person told me they just started running because they saw one of my running friends running every day.  All of the good things about running described above, now that person gets to have all of that, just because someone else laced up their shoes and decided they could run.  Think about the people you know in your life and all the things they have to deal with each day.  What could running do for them?  Maybe it could give them an extra 10 years of good health.  Maybe it could help them stay mentally balanced.  Maybe it could keep them emotionally stable.  Maybe it could provide a positive addiction to replace a negative one.  Maybe it could help them shed some pounds or just feel better about themselves.  And what if the motivation to do that came from you?  You have that power.  You just need to put on your shoes and lean forward. 

*You can get to know some of my inspiring running friends on Instagram by checking them out here:  @catherine.is.running, @bethelaine27, @pushthruthewall, @therunstreakgirl, @ursamich, @rock_toss_jess, @zombiee_odis just to name a few.