So, as probably a few people know, I’ve lost my mind and decided to start running again. I had been hitting my treadmill for a while and then decided that I should try the pavement again. When I started, a mile just about killed me. Now, I’m up to a mile and a half and barely breathing hard at all. So, I’m going to push 2 miles or so tomorrow. Goal is to run a 5k at some point and not wish for death while doing so.
My cardiovascular system seems to have gotten into shape faster than I was expecting. One thing I learned in the Marines was that so long as I could breathe, I could run as long as I wanted or until the muscles in my legs simply gave way. Tired legs could be ignored, the inability to intake enough oxygen could not be. So once you got your lungs in shape, running was rather easy if you could tune your mind out.
Therein lies the rub – Ignoring the burning in your legs & chest requires that you intentionally go into condition white. I have some tunes in my phone I play for running, and with my headphones plugged into my ear canals, I literally am not conscious of myself while pounding the pavement. I’m barely conscious of my surroundings too. I’m on autopilot for the road around me. Several times in the Marines I ran into the curb and tripped because I was so deep into not paying attention to my body that I didn’t even see them.
I was thinking about this last night at some point, and the instant I tried to go to Condition Yellow, I was painfully aware of my body trying to tell me I’m too old to be running. It’s an interesting conundrum because running for me is a night time activity, both because that’s the only time I can do it and that it’s the coolest part of the day around these parts.
Now, I don’t live in high crime area but I do run through some pretty dark places, one of which happens to be my daughters’ elementary school that doesn’t seem to have a single light on at night. Some of the houses have outside lights, but them being on is up to the whims of the owners and a good quarter mile doesn’t have any streetlights to speak of. I’m not really worried about being attacked by anything more than a canine, but it is odd to run and intentionally put myself into Condition White (in fact, I’d say I’m beyond White and in Condition Transparent). Alas, it’s a balance thing – I need to exercise, the chances of an attack are slim, and even if I were, it’s not like I’d have a gun on me since I’m trying to stay as light as possible while running anyway.
Thoughts?