Last week I mentioned I might have some initial thoughts on how a running practice and Zen practice can be combined into an introductory “mindful running” program for runners of all ability levels/spiritual backgrounds looking for a change, even if it’s only for a few months. And I’m guessing a lot of runners may be looking for a different approach to their running.
I’ve been running races from 5Ks to 100 miles for nearly 30 years now, and I know burnout when I see it – in myself and others. For me, it’s when running becomes a painful drudgery – usually when I’ve been stuck on the race/train/race again/train some more treadmill for too long. When the small nagging injuries begin popping up weekly, when I take longer and longer to get dressed for a run, when I start skipping scheduled training days, making up all kinds of lame excuses and then feeling guilty, it’s a big flashing cartoon neon sign that I need to press reset.
High-tech love affairs/more is more
And it’s not just running too much, or training for too many races too close together. Our current blind love affair with technology has managed to worm its way into something as primal as putting one foot in front of the other. High-tech shoes, workout clothes, and energy replacement supplements; training monitors, GPS devices, heart rate monitors, Twitter and Facebook updates during races from our phones, downloading the data from our monitors onto our computers and creating pacing graphs, tempo charts … I seem to hear as many discussions about how to program or troubleshoot training monitors and PC workout software as I do about running itself. We’ve turned the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other into yet another data point that needs to be collected, collated and analyzed.
But running too many races can of course be a problem, too – and there are a growing number of people who are interested in running as many marathons in a single year as possible, or at least running them as often as possible. Combine this obsession with a reliance on high technology, and what do you have? Basically, from where I’m looking, you’re in danger of reliving that part of your life you may have originally started running to get away from: a fast-paced, high-tech treadmill of chronic goal and achievement setting that’s leaving you permanently tired, hobbled with nagging injuries, and more than a little frustrated. And next to the discussions about how to reprogram an obstinate Garmin, I’m hearing more questions about frustration and exhaustion – dazed and confused, wondering how to get that old love of running back.
Barefootin’: everybody wants to get nekkid
I think at least part of the current barefoot running trend is based around a nagging feeling of chronic dissatisfaction (what Buddhists call dukkha — or, roughly translated, suffering) with the entire high-tech, high-pressure approach to running that’s currently prevalent. Many runners are, whether they realize it or not, hungering for simplicity – even if it means spending yet another $100 on a pair of glorified clown shoes to quickly buy into that simpler feeling, or at least a talisman. And yes, I did it!
I’m no Luddite, and technology is not inherently evil – that’s silly talk. Technology is what we make of it, even when we make too much of it. And it just may be time, from my perspective, to get re-grounded, to look down at our feet again. But not just our feet. Running is much more than just our feet. We need to re-examine our bodies, our minds, our environment – the entire way we’re approaching and using running in our lives, how our running impacts us and those around us.
Time, just maybe, to press reset for a little while. Time to get reacquainted with your running clothes, your shoes, your body, your head, the roads and trails where you run and train. Time to get intimate with the simple joy of running again, and relate it directly to your everyday life in a seamless, happy union. And no, I’m not just talking about barefoot running, or even about barefoot running at all. This is bigger than bare feet, bigger than you, and yet smaller than that unclipped corner of the toenail on your littlest toe … all at the same time.
Even if you’re not interested in starting a Zen practice or even using the word “Zen” (or “Mu” for that matter) in a sentence, it may be time to Run with Mu.
Who might need to Run with Mu?
Running with Mu can easily be scaled to all levels of runners and fitness levels. The program I’m going to take an initial stab at outlining over the next few posts is probably best suited for:
* runners suffering from training burnout and/or declining motivation (you know who you are!)
* runners in their racing “off season” who are looking for some restorative training and refocusing before their training for the next race season begins
* people who are looking to start a running program for exercise, but perhaps aren’t that interested in racing – at least not yet.
It’s by no means a radical program, although it may seem like one. Some of it may seem weird or absurd. But weird and absurd is all a matter of perspective, and perhaps something a little “weird” – something outside that routine of yours that has gotten so stale and unproductive – is exactly what you need. Like Zen practice, it’s all about breaking through those artificial barriers you have unconsciously labored to build over the years and finding home base again, that starting line where you always feel fresh and raring to go. Because you can return to the place where you and running are one and the same — nothing added or subtracted, forever and ever amen.
In the next post. I’ll start with two very basic first steps: (1) making a simple (but probably difficult) vow, and (2) a new way to take off your work clothes and pull on your running clothes.
Most excellent! I agree completely. As a runner, I reflected all the states of mind/practice you’ve described, at one time or another. They all have their place. But what I love and miss the most about running? Losing myself in my body and breath.
Thanks Jon; “losing yourself” is a good way of putting it … getting our demanding, neurotic Selves out of the way so we can get in touch with just ourselves. Ideally, that’s what running should be about.
Unfortunately, the Selves we manufacture are pretty tough and persistent, and it takes periodic refocusing to make them go away … which is where a Zen practice can help.
I’m one who doesn’t run races, and combines meditation with running.
Not having to stick to a strict schedule of x number of miles, or x.y minutes per mile has greatly improved the quality of my runs.
Another method I use to avoid burnout is lots of different courses, with
as much trail running as I can get in.
Listening to the body, listening to the mind, and listening to the intuition.
Thanks Kennie — it’s all about listening, isn’t it? Sometimes we’re not so good at that.
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