It sounds strange to say something like “forgetting how to run” but I see more and more evidence of it around me as people enter their midlife or settle down with families. Of course, it becomes more challenging to get to exercise with work and family responsibilities and we lose the freedom of being a child who can simply run free.
I always enjoy my children’s annual school athletics try outs and towards the end of the event they invite parents to race against each other. The ladies kick off their high heels and dash enthusiastically towards the start line with the competitive spirit of the Olympics. They have the determination of Usain Bolt to wipe out all the competition and prove to little Sally that they still have it in them. When the gun fires it’s like watching a giraffe learning to waltz and they stumble over their feet and some inevitably bite the dust. It’s like their mind is saying one thing but their body is saying another thing. This is not limited to the mom’s race, as the fathers are worse with their raging bull testosterone levels getting the better of them.
So why is it that as we grow older we forget how to run? We get stiff and awkward in our running style and it just doesn’t feel natural anymore. When I observe my son Christopher, aged 7, run it’s like watching poetry in motion. He runs with such freedom as he punches his fists towards his chest and his heels kick back towards his buttocks. It almost looks like he is defining gravity as he moves with such big strides for a little fellow. I believe that it’s not so much that we put on weight as we get older that it inhibits our ability to run but more so that we simply choose not to run and start to forget how to run.
I make a point to run for at least 15 minutes before each of my gym workouts, which covers about 2.3kms (1.4 miles) just to loosen up my legs. On some days I will run for this length of time or I will aim to get to 2kms (1.2 miles) in under 10 minutes, which means I have to step up my pace. Sometimes chasing time is also good because this forces me to lengthen my stride. By having this consistent discipline of running before I lift weights it keeps the muscle memory in place and I feel good when I run longer races. If I enter a Park Run event for a distance of 5km (3.1 miles) I can comfortably cover this distance even though running is not my primary sport.
So make the time to run and believe in yourself that you are never too old to run wild just like you are a child once again.
John Westermeyer 