Usually I try to post a lengthy story about something really
cool that happened to me in regards to running. Heck, maybe I’ll even throw in
some imagery from time to time using words that I probably obfuscate because I
don’t actually know what they mean. That’s not the case here; the point of this
writing is to explain what I’ve learned about running from this past year of
teaching and living in general.
Nothing here in the US makes our problem as evident as the
news cycle. With 24-hour news available on TV, internet, or radio, media
outlets are always looking for ways to boost ratings with sensational headlines
and ‘breaking news’. They play a story, analyze the crap out of it until the
effect is rendered useless, and then they bring up the next big story. They’ll
do this on repeat all day and all night. We are inundated with headlines to
keep up with all the fast-moving news around us. I was watching new episodes of
Spongebob Squarepants last night, and during the commercials I had to shut the
TV off because everything was moving so fast and cutting in and out so quickly
that I couldn’t even follow what was going on!
We wonder why kids can’t focus, but social media, internet,
radio, and TV all move so fast that there’s no time to dwell on and think about
anything. Here’s a question for you: how often do you read an entire article or
news story? Or even better: how often do you read the comments before clicking
on an article? Don’t judge a book by its cover, indeed.
In education the big push is multi-step projects or
activities that can keep the kids engaged and make it real-world for them. We
have largely discarded the lecture for its simplistic, boring, un-engaging,
teacher-oriented format that doesn’t give students the chance to develop some
brain sweat. We want to use the Socratic Method of responding to student’s
questions with questions, but forget that Socrates had highly motivated
students that were there to learn; they didn’t put their head down, complain
about working on math problems, or whine about having to be there in the first
place.
It sounds cliché, but the more I look and look around me,
the more it becomes evident that many young people truly live in an instant
gratification world. If students don’t get the concept right away, they give
up. If students don’t get their graded assignments back the next day, they
whine. If the same news story is headlining for two days straight, we lose
interest. Our food is packaged for quick heating, not baking or cooking. We
have convenience stores and super-stores so you don’t have to waste any time
shopping at different places. Even Christian worship is turning that way, with
professional praise bands that are more interested in giving you a weekly shot
of ‘Holy Spirit’ instead of long-term spiritual growth.
Distance running isn’t like that.
You can run hard every day for a few weeks and your fitness
will improve substantially, but you’ll probably also end up burned out and
injured (many people do this, and many people are also injured). People come
into clinics with all sorts of running injuries and the question usually ends
up at: “How can I fix this injury ASAP so I can get running again?” instead of “What
long-term steps should I take to avoid injuries like this?” Our shoes get more
and more cushion-ey until you end up with Hokas, which is like running with a
mattress on each foot. We have kinesio-tape, anti-inflammatory pills, inhalers,
L-cartinine (I see you NOP- y’all guilty of this too), amazing recovery drinks,
super foods, specialized shoes, expensive dri-fit clothing, running socks,
belts to hold gel packs, armbands for our iPods, specialized running headphones,
music and entertainment at road races, finishers medals- need I go on? Ok, I
will.
You can find workout regimens out there that promise ‘couch
to 5k’ or ‘couch to marathon’ in twelve weeks, like that’s actually the way to
do it. I’ve got news for you- finishing a 5k is not a big deal. Finishing a 10k
is not a big deal. And when you look at human anatomy and how we are literally
designed to be long-distance runners and travelers (in fact, some of the most
efficient long-distance beings in the animal kingdom), finishing a
half-marathon is not that big of a deal either.
That’s why I love real, raw running. It’s the most natural
sport a human can take part in, and there’s no shortcuts. You want to run fast?
Get outside every day and run. There is no substitute for hard work. There is
no instant gratification. There is only this: if you want to run long distances
better, then you have to run long distances more. No amount of technology will
get you there.
Just ask Eliud Kipchoge. He ran 2:00.25 for the full
marathon, and while he had pacing and drafting help, he worked his butt off in
that race. We saw the most talented distance runner on the planet get pushed to
his absolute limit, and it was awe-inspiring. He believed in himself and pushed
his body every day to get to where he wanted to be. There were no short-cuts,
even though Nike tried to give him every advantage possible- he still had to
put in the work. I mean, there were two other guys that had access to all the
same technology and didn’t even make it half as far as Kipchoge did, and one of
them is the world record holder in the half marathon! There is no substitute
for hard work.
So from what I’ve seen as a teacher, I don’t know if I’d
make a good high school coach or not. I’d want to push kids and get talent out
of them, not give them an excuse to have a fun sport while getting in shape for
another, ‘better’ sport. I wouldn’t be afraid to tell a student athlete when
they didn’t have a good race or aren’t putting in effort, but that’s how kids
end up quitting. I’ve seen it as a teacher- students want only to be told that
they are doing a great job, no matter what. But we all have to hear hard
lessons sometimes. There’s nobody I’m more thankful for than my amazing fiancée,
Ingrid, because she never lets me settle. In every aspect of life, she helps me
become better and better, and some days it’s hard because we might disagree.
But in the end, she’s right ;)
I don’t know if this post comes off as a vent or straight-up
offensive and insensitive, but I want to keep distance running pure. Real
distance running will not cave into instant gratification- I won’t let it. And
I hope you won’t either. Never take shortcuts and always give it all you got. I
can personally promise you that there are few things better than making intense
sacrifices for months, only to have it all finally pay off in a good race or
run. Allow others to let you grow and help you succeed by pointing out how you
can be better. And no, not everybody is winner, and nobody promises you
success. But if have to be told you’re a winner anyway, maybe you need to think
about why you’re doing it in the first place.
