Forged in Fire

How Long Distance Running Has Changed My Life

As an entry-level ultra marathon runner, I have many times spent hours on end traversing gravel roads, suburban streets, or trails in the woods. The term itself, “long run” is often misunderstood, for a number of reasons.

A long run isn’t any specific distance. This is entirely dependent on a person’s experience, current level of stamina, and perhaps most importantly – their training schedule. It wouldn’t make sense for someone who is training for a 5K to run 14 miles on any given Saturday, or someone training for a half-marathon to run 25 — and so on.

Typically in my training, one day per week is dedicated to my “long run”. The distance of which varies week-to-week.

To me, the action of going out on a long run represents more than simply covering some miles for the sake of doing so. I’ve found my Saturday morning long runs to offer immense levels of productivity, clarity, love, mental fortitude — to list a few, not to mention the obvious physical benefits.

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.

– Aristotle

Briefly, I’d like to touch on the basic physical advantages provided through running (of any distance or speed.)

We’ve all heard from one person or another, that “running is bad for your bones” and particularly “it is bad for your knees.” Right? Wrong. The truth of the matter is that the act of running actually strengthens an individuals’ peak bone density up through their 20’s – thereafter helping to maintain the density already present, according to Megan Roche, MD, in an article written by Cindy Kuzma and published in SELF magazine. This article goes on to describe in detail the possible (and often likely) positive effects that running can have on a person’s knees.

In addition to the increase in bone and muscular strength, running is found to have a lasting (positive) impact on one’s heart health. Lower resting heart rate, increased blood circulation, and much higher maximal oxygen consumption, just to name a few of the cardiovascular benefits associated with the sport or hobby of running.

I’ll spare you all of the details, and provide you, rather with an example of my own.

When I picked up running as a hobby during the summer of 2020, just as many others did in a time of pandemic-fueled longing for activity, I had not run more than a mile in nearly two years. Life post-wrestling for me looked much different than life looks for me in my current state. Due to years of tearing my body down, exercise at the time may as well have been a foreign language that I couldn’t even begin to utilize. Nevertheless, I felt awful. Bad knees, bad back, bad shoulders – you get the picture.

I would be lying to myself and to you if I said that running didn’t hurt at first – it did. That it wasn’t hard at first – it was. But, I continued to show up, and to cover the miles that I had committed to, and words cannot adequately describe how thankful I am that I did.

Moving forward through this article, I plan to touch on a handful of benefits that I have associated with running as a whole and particularly my long run(s) of the week.

Learning Opportunities

There are countless studies and opinions on the use of headphones while running. Some (myself included) swear by it for a number of reasons, which I will get to briefly. Others find great use in running with no sound at all, allowing their minds to wander. This method has proven to have a whole slew of benefits for countless individuals – just not my thing.

As with everything – do what works best for you.

My own preference, as I previously alluded to, is the use of podcasts, audio books and music during my runs. Sometimes I stick with just one long podcast, some days I go strictly music, and others I switch it up throughout.

What I’ve found is that there is no time that I am as fully present as I am at 5:30am on a Saturday morning – such presence seemingly increasing as the miles stack up. What better time to take in a podcast, book, or some of your favorite music? Or, of course, just the sights and sounds of the world around you.

I credit a large amount of my current knowledge to information I’ve taken in while running, which fortunately leads to increased levels of productivity, gratitude, clarity, and an overall optimal use of time. Before I dive into each of these categories individually, I’ll recommend some of my favorite content to intake.

A few podcasts that I listen to while running:

The Joe Rogan Experience – Probably pretty predictable, right? The Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular podcast on the face of this planet. The host, Joe Rogan is a comedian, UFC commentator, actor, avid bowhunter, and an absolute master of long-form conversation (this list could go on forever, the guy is all over the place.)

The Tim Ferris Show – This is an awesome podcast hosted by Tim Ferris, an author, investor, entrepreneur, and a self-proclaimed “human guinea pig.” The show offers immense levels of intellect from some of the world’s leading scientists, investors, lifestyle-gurus, and anything in between.

The Freetrail Podcast – Host Dylan Bowman, world-class ultrarunner and co-founder of The Feetrail Organization, facilitates conversations with some of the greatest runners and most formidable figures within the trail and ultrarunning community. This podcast has helped to broaden my scope on the sport itself and absorb knowledge from some of the greats.

Billy Yang Podcast – Billy is an incredible content producer, and the pioneer for high-quality documentaries in the ultra running community. His podcasts serve as opportunities for individuals to share their story via long-form conversation. Whether you are into ultra-distance running or not, you’ll absolutely enjoy his videos and podcasts alike.

Like A Bigfoot Podcast – I have listened to this podcast for some time now. The host, Chris Ward is a great thinker and conversationalist. As a newer platform, he holds discussions with your every day people on the topics of adventure, endurance, motivation, perseverance and possibility. In addition to putting out some awesome content, Chris is originally a native Iowan like myself!

Some tunes that have become staples in my running playlists:

High Top Mountain, Sturgill Simpson – This is my favorite record produced by whom I consider to be one of the greatest musically creative minds of all time, Sturgill Simpson. He has released albums crossing the genres of Bluegrass, Americana, Contemporary Country, Alt-Country, Alternative/Indie Rock and Outlaw Country.

Rolling On, Darling West – A song that will (should) get just about anyone ready to run straight through their shoes. I don’t exactly remember when or how I stumbled upon this one, but it has remained a favorite.

The Chain, Fleetwood Mac – Just an absolute classic. Gets me going every time.

Scoundrel, Sam Burchfield – I found this artist coming up on a couple of years ago. This particular record is his most recent, and outstanding from start to finish. Whether i’m running, driving or even working, I often find myself reverting to this track.

Roll The Bones, Shakey Graves – Rounding out this short list of songs and albums is another artist that I consider to be one of the greatest to ever live. Unique vocals, outstanding songwriting – this song specifically is great toward the end of a long run.

Increased Productivity/Time Management

Being productive and staying productive is something that I have long struggled with. Throughout my years in high school and college specifically, I was a chronic procrastinator – really strong emphasis on the word chronic. I had jacked up priorities, a selfish mind, and a poor set of habits.

Over time, I’ve discovered that productivity is a by-product of your daily habits – I’ll elaborate.

Let’s begin with the first thing a person does each day, literally – waking up. The time and manner by which you start your day is perhaps the most vital piece of living an overall productive life. Now, this is not to say that you have to set your alarm for 4:00am every day of the week. More important is the routine you initiate after waking up AND the routine you set in place the night before, prior to falling asleep. Set yourself up for success in the day that lay ahead. This is something that I have progressed within over time, finding new things that work as I go.

When Saturday morning comes around, and my 4:00am alarm sounds (yes, I know I just said you don’t HAVE to wake this early) I have everything ready to go from the night prior. Clothing and gear laid out, nutrition set aside, shoes at the door.

By doing this, all friction has been reduced – or, at least the great majority of it.

If my alarm sounds at 4:00am, and nothing is prepared, It becomes much easier to hit that snooze button, or shut the alarm off in its entirety. After all, it’s Saturday morning, the bed is warm, my wife and daughter are sleeping soundly – what kind of crazy person would head out the door to run 20 miles in the dark? This very thought has crossed my mind countless times. Nearly every Saturday morning, if we’re being entirely honest.

Not allowing these thoughts to take hold is the only boundary holding a person back from achieving great levels of productivity. Whatever that may look like.

Once the hardest part of my day is done (by this, I mean getting out of bed – not the run, and yes, I’m 100% serious) the groundwork is set. My brain is in its healthiest state, ready to take on whatever the day may entail.

The act of showing up, which I heavily discussed in my previous post on character, is the single-most important piece of this puzzle. One of my all time favorite quotes is “it does not matter how fast you go, only that you do not stop going.” – The accuracy is profound.

In setting a routine, and sticking to it, I have experienced its effects throughout the remainder of each Saturday, and the week following. We are all, at our absolute core, creatures of habit, and as I said; productivity is a byproduct of your habits.

In my finding of distance running, I have developed much stronger habits than that of three years prior. Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) my productivity in my personal life at home as a husband and father as well as my career as a teacher and a coach has never been higher.

The big picture is this; in order to achieve desired levels of productivity, you must wake up each day at 4:00.

Only kidding.

In reality, I have come to understand that fixing my habits – going to sleep at 9:30 instead of 11:30, eating a handful of pretzels instead of a tub of ice cream, reading instead of scrolling through TikTok, all stack up. Picture it as a domino-effect.

So, a long run isn’t the reason for my increased productivity, but rather a tool, a domino, if you will. Once again, I will spare the full details, which I intend to elaborate upon in later posts.

Clarity/Gratitude

Running itself is known to have a positive impact on overall brain health. Regular running raises dopamine levels in the brain, increasing levels of energy, positive thoughts, etc.

At one time or another, everyone has heard the term “runner’s high.” I went the first 21 years of my life believing that there was just simply no possible way that a human being could experience such a thing while deep in a run – I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It’s a real thing, a runners high, and, in the simplest terms possible, it’s awesome.

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Increased levels of dopamine have had a tremendous effect on my state of mind. This impacts my own mental health in an extremely positive way, but also improves my relationships with the people I love. If you ever find yourself feeling down, or less than appreciative for the life you’re living, go on a run. You’ll thank me later.

With regards to clarity, my time out running has become the single-most productive (ope, there’s that word again) period of time used for developing new ideas and making decisions. The core ideas that will comprise this blog came to me while out on a run.

After all, I’m not a scientist – I don’t even teach science. Therefore, I won’t waste your time by attempting to describe the brain activity I’m eluding to. Just do yourself a favor and believe me when I say that it’s legitimate.

In Summary

What was once a dreadful task, something that I was forced to do as “conditioning” for a high school or collegiate sport, has now become the most powerful tool in my daily life. Opening an entirely new window of possibilities for myself, not just physically, but mentally.

As life progresses, many are quick to dismiss the idea of trying something new, to disregard their mental and physical well-being, because “we’re getting older anyways.”

While this is true, we are in fact aging – this is a shallow scope of life. I’ve come to realize this ten-fold.

A brand new lease on life, with endless possibilities, large spikes in productivity, clarity, gratitude, and most of all, mental fortitude lay on the other side of commitment.

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Resources:

March 12, 2023, from https://www.self.com/story/benefits-of-running