January 15, 2012

Nine and a Half Ways To Keep Running Real


(published in Ultra Running Magazine March 2012)

1. Find new routes everyday. I mean everyday. Take them.

2. Cycle your training. Plan your peaks and valleys. From month to month, week to week, and day to day. There’s a time to push, and a time to pull back.

3. Don’t forget your posse. Run with them regularly. Swap stories. Talk about running. Talk about life. They keep you grounded. They remind you why you run.

4. Lay low every once in a while. I’m not talking about for a couple of days. Or even for a couple of weeks. I’m talking about for a couple of months. Find something else to do.

5. Commit. To a goal. To an event. Any event. Preferably one that inspires you. If you can’t, rest easy. It’s not the end of the world. If you can, smile, and enjoy the ride.

6. Tune in. To music. To audio books. To talk radio. Whatever entices you while you run. Stream music (vs download) and listen to anything, anytime, and be surprised.

7. Tune out. Don’t think, just do. Let your mind drift while you run. Like a tumbleweed in a warm desert wind.

8. Wander. Leave home with no particular place to go. No routine. No plan. Just run.

9. Stop regularly on a run. Look around. You will be amazed at the little things that look back at you.

9.5. Always remember this: Running is not a job. It’s not a duty.  It’s not an obligation. It is your life, at that moment. Keep it real. Embrace it.

9 comments:

Rachel said...

words to live by.

Shari said...

Love it!

Will Cooper said...

Thanks rachele and smr, I've learned most of these the hard way...and I'm still learning!

EricG said...

Sounds like good life suggestions Will! Thanks as always for keeping it real. Peace E

Dirty Running said...

Great stuff.

Mike Taricani said...

#1,#5,#6,and #8 are right up my alley. Now that I have been running a while and doing longer distances my routines have become.....less of a routine. By accident my recent runs have been without a plan. I start and turn when the moment hits me. Not CC ultra but I have may options in the country roads I run on. I also switch music on and off....for no particular reason. Its nice to hear nothing but...me...sometimes. So I guess I agree that running can and should be more than...."running".

Will Cooper said...

Mike, wow, thanks for sharing...sounds like you are living in the moment during your runs, which is where you belong! Keep it real out there.

Jukka Kukkonen said...

Congrats for winning in UTMB lottery! I won my respective CCC lottery as well. See you somewhere around Mt Blanc.

KovasP said...

Will, I appreciated this so much I reposted it so my readers could see it: http://www.midwestmultisportlife.com/2012/04/nine-and-half-ways-to-keep-running-real.html

Thanks again!