that’s runnable
The 35th Edition of your favourite Running Newsletter
I don’t love running most of the time. There. I said it. Feels like a weird thing to admit when running is such a huge part of my life. But it’s true. I don’t wake up excited to put my shoes on. I don’t romanticise every training run. Sometimes, running is just a thing I do because I said I would. And yet, I keep doing it.
Something to Think About 💭
Being a runner isn’t about loving running, far from it. A lot of the time, it’s about being someone who shows up despite not loving it all the time.
Something to Ask Yourself ❓
Do you run because you always love it, or do you do it because of what it gives you?
Article of the Week 📄
There wasn’t really an article on this topic that I thought was compelling. It’s all about how “I used to hate running… now I don’t” or “10 ways to make your running more enjoyable” (snore!)
This was quite a nice read about different types of fun, Type I, Type II and Type III. Have a read and learn about the “fun scale”!
Track of the Week 🎶
Here’s a decent track to cruise to on your next easy run…
This week’s track of the week is:
Sun Lady Statement by Soul Wun (2021)
Personal Lesson
Over the last five years, I’ve taken my time in ultra running. I’ve run mountain races in the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Highlands of Scotland, Gran Canaria and more. I’ve felt successful, disappointed, and I’ve had injuries – like my UTMB dropout that derailed me for nine months. Through it all, I’ve learned that you don’t have to love running all the time to keep showing up for it.
This summer, I’ll be running my first 100-miler at Devil’s Gulch in the Eastern Cascades of Washington State. It’ll be hot, it’ll be high altitude, and it’ll have an absurd amount of elevation gain. It’s the complete opposite of the structured, measured, precision-based world of road racing. It’s unpredictable, it’s raw, it’s self-discovery wrapped in suffering. That’s the part of running that does resonate with me.
I’ve tried a little over the years to communicate my disinterest in a lot of the running world, but I do run the risk of needlessly being negative about a community I ultimately love! There is, though, a lot in the running space that doesn’t resonate with me at all and I’m often asked questions about stuff I don’t have strong opinions about, because I don’t really care about it (carbon-plated shoes, the marathon majors, or some new brand-led CBD business for example).
The point I’m trying to make is, there is so much in running, perhaps outside of the mainstream, that you can find joy in. Running is and can just be YOUR thing. You don’t have to make it your entire identity like I clearly have 😉
Running – Life’s Metaphor
We don’t always enjoy the daily grind, but we commit to it because of the places it can take us. It doesn’t always look glamorous, sometimes it’s just work.
Final Thoughts
Running will feel like a slog sometimes. Actually, it will feel like a slog a lot of the time. Even the best runners, the hardest-working athletes, the ones dedicating their entire lives to the sport, there are days they don’t love it. There are days they don’t want to do it. In fact, I would argue they don’t like it most of the time and they only sometimes have fleeting experiences of loving it. The joy of running isn’t something that’s always there, always accessible. And that’s okay.
Because the best things in life, the things we love the most, are often the very things that frustrate us. The things that challenge us, that push us to our limits, that demand something from us. They aren’t always easy, but that’s the point. If something is worth it, if something matters, it should be hard. It should require effort and patience and commitment.
That’s why we keep running. Not because it’s easy. Not because we always love it. But because we know that deep down, we love what it gives us. And when we push through the hard days, when we show up even when we don’t feel like it, when we commit to something bigger than comfort, that’s when we become runners, no matter how we feel about it in the moment.
This game isn’t always about the running. It’s about the showing up.
Thanks again for reading and subscribing.
Run the runnable, and keep showing up for yourself!
Tommy 🙂
