by Jesper Schjællerup, 11. March 2021
Among a lot of expressions regarding the environment, “sustainability” is probably the one most frequently misused.
Sustainability is not extending the consumption of resources available for as long as possible. Or to deplete them less quickly.
A process is sustainable when it can be a part of nature’s cycle forever.
This article is not an essay about equipment made from recycled waste, plant based nutrition, or about only participating in races, which can be reached without the use of fossil fuel.
It is much more present: It’s about your own body.
How then, when we discuss running, is sustainability related to one’s own body?
If you only run for a shorter period of your life, let’s say to participate in a certain race, and then never run again because you’re constantly injured, then running is not really a part of your life cycle.
If you run in such a way, that you are able to complete the training as well as the race, and after that still continue to enjoy the pleasures of running, then it is a part of your life cycle.
If you use yourself, but are not using yourself up, running can be a part of your life cycle forever.
That is sustainable running.
This was basically the important part. You can stop reading now and go for a run instead.
If you continue, it will be at your own risk of exposure to philosophical thoughts.
Another widely used expression is “we only have one Earth”. (Variation thereof: “There’s no Planet B”. Brilliant expression!)
That is absolutely correct. (Unless you believe in a parallel universe. This might be a topic for a later article.)
Parallel to this, you can say “You have only one you”.
... That is much worse! Now it is suddenly close to home! Which does not make it any less true, though.
(Let me reduce the definition of “forever” to “a lifetime”. Vampires and likewise might ignore this correction.)
The consummation of body resources can happen rapidly.
It is seen in the beginner, giving it full throttle and thereafter suffers chronic pains in knees/feet/back/you name it.
Large quantities of the “right” running shoes and special insoles have been purchased, running tests have been made, tape applied, needles jabbed, and finally every available surface has been painted with pain-reducing anodynes – all in an attempt to compensate for the ever-present pains and aches.
It can also be observed in the more experienced and seasoned runner, who’s used to run long, hardcore distances – who still continues as usual, in spite of the body’s signals that this particular weekend it may not be necessary to run that marathon as you planned nor to participate in the race, just to get another medal for the collection, is it?!
If one has a real need for aids and medications, by all means use them, whether it's for treatment of injuries or to temporarily moderate a pain. But unfortunately, all too often the first response to a pain is buying something rather than working on technique and intensity.
Fast results and recognition is awesome! So is beating the others – or at least some of them. It is a great feeling to get out of your comfort zone, to challenge yourself, to be better than yesterday and whatnot.
Without any irony: It is awesome!
Though, if you want to be able to continue to run, the crucial point is to reduce the intensity of the hunt for that particular rush. Get the proper amount of resting between your runs and other training, so it's not just this summer that you're one of the tough guys, but next summer too, the next after that and so on.
Even if summer is gone you’re still allowed to feel in top shape
There's no doubt that the cool top results, the fast times, the extreme distances, are run by people, who set themselves a goal, and then beaver away, working intensively towards it. It’s not a consideration of whether you will last for the next 50 years or not, that makes you first across the finish line.
Motivation comes in different shapes and sizes. Let it be said right away:
It is every person’s own choice to run for whatever reasons and whatever motivation. As long as it doesn't hurt other people.
Whether it is too damaging to yourself, is of course also for you to decide.
For many people, though, it's not an active and deliberate choice; they are wearing themselves out with the best intentions.
It might be because they’re training “like the Elite” or something like that, without considering that the Elite, roughly speaking, only has to make it across the finish line – Usually more than once, but still for a relatively limited period. Whether or not the Elite has to use crutches in its old age bears no significance: Winners train hard and eat healthy. Period.
A wonderful forest, a layer of snow, a hill that takes your breath away; all in one package
It can also be, that they follow a workout plan or someone’s guidance without hesitation or without listening to their own body – and are not given the expert guidance to listen to the feedback, the body gives them.
Furthermore it can be difficult to stay within the right limits, if you run with a group of people, where you let yourself be pressured too hard. It's a difficult balancing act, because at the same time some people need a group to run with in order to get any running done at all.
It’s not always easy to know when it's the right “too much” or too much “too much” – the body needs stress, pressure, to a certain degree to be strengthened.
It’s not the stress itself that's dangerous, as long as it’s within the limits of the elasticity of body and mind. For the system to work properly, It's the process of rebuilding and recharging after the training that's important to remember.
The baseline should be: If the muscles start to hurt, rather than just being sore, it's really not a good sign.
When the saying “The pain just can be cured by running” changes from being a joke to being a (more or less) silent prayer, you should seriously consider to reduce the throttle. If you think you need to run faster to beat the pain, it’s way off track.
Take it a tad slower and let the body catch up.
Pain is the body’s way of saying “What you did right there; don't do that again!”
Cool, fresh and by all means fantastic running weather
When I take a look at many of my running friends and acquaintances, who can or used to be able to run long distances or at a fast pace, there are an awful lot of them who have had surgery at one time or another.
There’s hardly any doubt that if you need to be operated on because of your running activities, there’s something you haven't done quite optimally, from a physiological point of view.
Accidents that require surgical intervention, can happen, of course. That’s not what I’m talking about; it’s about you breaking down your body rather than building it up or keeping it strong.
If it’s your dream to be able to continue running, without getting injured or wearing yourself out, you'll have to adjust your pattern of movement and intensity according to that.
This is where the idea of sustainable running comes into play:
Don’t run longer, faster, more often or more wildly than what your body can keep up with.
The breakdown, which is a key element of becoming stronger, has to be followed by an equally essential – but often overlooked – phase, restitution. The rebuild after exercise is just as important for the system.
To put it another way: Remember to relax and rest sufficiently.
(And no, it's not an average; just because you've been sitting on the couch for the last two decades 20-years, it does not mean that you can give it full speed ahead for the next 20 years ...)
Several ultra runners are completing the most unbelievable distances, where the distances are measured in 3 or more digits, then get their rest and recharge the body, after which they proceed happily as ever with no problems to speak of.
It's an excellent example of the human body being a hardy and durable machine.
Just remember to keep it well oiled and running instead of burning it out.
Running on a sandy beach gives you extra training for the ankles
For some it’s part of the sport, that you continue far beyond the limit of pain, where it's unbearable, and you're going through a living hell.
If you’re into that, for all I care, go right ahead.
Only remember that everything has its price.
A worn down body, which is unable to work anymore, is a steep price to pay for having used it harder and faster than the speed with which it could rebuild itself in the process.
Of course it’s your choice completely whether you’re willing to pay such a price. As long as you’re aware that it does not come for free.
I know what I'm willing to pay: Being able to run without pain.
At the same time it means that I won't be standing on any winner’s podium or become a top athlete for a giant (or a microscopic, for that matter) brand.
I'm completely fine with that. (Okay, my running buddy’s response to this sentence was “I know you secretly want it”. She’s right, but don’t tell her.)
What I get in return is the ability to run whenever I want to, for however long I want to (it’s only a matter of how far I want to run ...)
I enjoy the run itself, being out in nature, and to be able to move around as I want to.
At the time of writing, my longest runs are trail running at a little above 50 kilometers.
(A great deal of my runs are at distances between 3½ – 35 kilometers / 2 – 20 miles.)
For some that's a warm up, for others a nearly unthinkable distance. For me it's a good long run with the opportunity to have some good experiences.
I haven't hit any walls, I haven't felt like a superhuman afterwards, I haven't even hated myself while on the run, but I haven't had pain or been injured afterwards either ...
I have some good, long runs. I admire the scenery and, last but not least, I enjoy every moment. For me it usually feels like a reward all the way.
I do not mean to diminish a marathon; it is a big performance. You don't just get up from the couch (without ever having run before), run a marathon, and then continue as nothing has ever happened ... But I want to illustrate that I run regularly, even longer distances; that I have been running since I was a child and that I do not run any faster than I feel like. In other words, I have been training myself moderately over several years. It has been combined with an (apparently obscure) pleasure in running uphill. And the most essential part is, I truly enjoy to move at a running pace!
In other words: I run sustainably.
Does it then mean, that if you didn’t start when you were a kid, then you might as well skip the idea?
Not at all!
It’s like planting a tree: The best time was 20 years ago; but the next best time is right now!
Engage.
There will certainly come a day when I can't run that far anymore, and the steep hills have to be replaced by more flat terrain; but that day has to be as far in the future as possible!
My motivation is not to be the fastest nor the toughest; but I'm pretty sure that I'm highly ranked among those who enjoy the run while doing it!
You can have a lot of drive, even though you don't follow a given track towards a certain goal.
That’s why I strive for running sustainably:
I want to be running for about as long as I'm around.
A closing comment:
Don't use all of the above as an excuse not to go running!
You’re not supposed to wear yourself out; but the idea is to be active more or less all the time, keep yourself going, as a natural way of living!
Enjoy your runs.
A sunset on a day in the Spring.
The day has come to an end, but behold: The Summer is on its way
#SchjllrpRun
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