M. Suzanne Terry

Swollen, raggedy feet. Lest you think my running life is glamorous.

When you are training for a race, a good trainer will tell you that rest days are as important as run days. Rest can help alleviate soreness and prevent injury. For me, rest gives me something to look forward to, especially in the early days of training when it’s the hardest to be motivated.

What constitutes rest will depend on your fitness level. For a triathlete who is a couple of weeks away from the race, rest could look like 20 leisurely laps in the pool or a 1-mile jog.

That is not what rest looks like for me. That is what a workout looks like for me.

At my current stage of fitness, rest for me is a slow walk. I’m talking mosey-level walking. Like…barely moving and smelling all the roses. Or it’s an extended stretching period (i.e., 30-45 minutes instead of my usual 15-20), minus the preliminary walking/running. The last time I was running regularly, rest days were spent in the pool, doing side-stroke laps or treading water for a half hour.

Rest days can also be just rest. Not doing any activity other than your normal getting-through-the-day. Whatever gives your muscles a chance to relax and rebuild, that counts as rest.

That kind of rest is the easy part.

Good sleep and psychological rest are also important to overall wellness. These are trickier for me.

I do fall asleep more easily when I’m active, but I still wake up several times a night as per my usual habits. Later this month, I’ll be talking more about good sleep practice, sharing tricks learned from others and what worked for me when I was working night shift.

Psychological rest is often elusive for me. It’s not that I don’t know what works. It’s just that those things are hard to want when in the throes of distress. Especially when there is cake in the house. Cake, however, freaks all my chemicals out and does not help me.

*whispers* It’s so delicious, though…

I need to work on incorporating best practices for rest into my life.

What are your best practices?

I’m spending 31 days running wild.

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When I’m up this early in the morning, clutching a coffee cup makes everyone around me safer.

When I run or walk – no matter where I’m going – safety is my primary concern.

Nothing is more frustrating than hurting myself because I’m pushing too far past what my body can do. I want to set a training schedule and stick to it so much that sometimes I don’t pay as much attention to pain as I should. I haven’t been consistently active in my body at this size, so I am still learning through trial and error where the limits lie.

I need to learn (or at least refresh my memory) the strengthening exercises that make running safer. I need to remember to stretch instead of just collapsing into a chair at the end.

In the past, running has been an effective way to deal with anxiety, but sometimes, running induces it instead. Watching the news, particularly on weeks like this, make staying inside with the door locked seem really attractive. If I go out, I want it to be under very strict guidelines. I want it to be daytime so that the path cannot help but be well lit. I am hesitant to go without people I know, even if the place I’m going is well populated, because you never know who is lurking within that population, looking for the weakest of the herd. I sometimes come across as the weakest of the herd. Walking or running with friends takes care of the nerves, but friends aren’t always available.

I need to unlearn a little of the fear. To some extent, it is realistic and healthy. I will still take certain precautions (not going it alone in the dark, for example). But I also need to practice walking in it, because while those with malicious intent may very well be out there on my path, they don’t get to control me. I won’t stay caged for my own protection. That’s not the sort of life I want to live.

And that’s the question this issue of safety asks – what do I want my life to be? Do I want to be sedentary, unsure of my body and what it can do? Do I want to stay where I am comfortable or challenge myself to grow?

How are you challenging yourself physically? How are you challenging yourself otherwise?

I’m spending 31 days running wild.

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My 31 Days series this year is going to be about running. This post is going to be a deconstruction of what I mean by “running wild.” We will be taking rampant liberties with the phrase.

First, a disclaimer – I am an amateur. I am not a coach, nutritionist, physical therapist, or trained professional of anything that has to do with running. I am not even particularly good at running. Some days, I am barely good at walking. This is simply a 31-day project to get me out of the house (read: out of my comfort zone), and the posts will be a combination of how that’s going and what I’ve learned.

Expect many references.

The main goal is to walk/run 50 miles in the course of the month. That should be a doable goal, even for someone starting from scratch. What I am hoping is that there is a little something for everyone here.

I will be mostly walking, because what I do know about running is that, unless you are in reasonably good shape already, it’s not something to jump right into. I’m going to have to work up to it. Again. For those of you who are looking to add more activity in your life, I invite you to join our discussions about how you’re easing into it, as I will be doing the same.

I will also be reflecting on the challenges of walking with friends vs. the challenges of walking alone. I don’t know about you, but I am more consistent with my workouts when there is someone who is depending on me to go with them. I also know that busy schedules keep that from always being feasible. I get nervous when I go alone, and I talk myself out of it. If you have something to say about staying motivated when you’re on your own, or if you have a brilliant plan for making schedules work with others, there will be days to discuss that.

Part of the month is going to be about body image. One of the reasons I don’t like to run (or exercise at all, really) out in public is that I do not look like a runner. There will be people whose reaction to this is, “A runner doesn’t look a particular way.” They, of course, are technically correct. I know this. I know the right answers about body image and body positivity. That does not in any way erase the reality of the struggle, at least not for me. There will be days we will talk about that.

I will be running wild. Probably not in the wild. Don’t be absurd. I’m not changing personalities. But I will be exploring areas I haven’t been before.

Each week will follow a basic structure. This week, I am introducing the four themes of the month: safety, rest, fuel, and hydration. Each Sunday is the week overview. Monday-Thursday are topics related to week’s theme. Friday will usually involve five outside sources pertaining to the week’s theme. And Saturday will be my progress report on how my goal to run/walk 50 miles is going, as well as a discussion of my favorite place I walked/ran that week.

Each day in the series will be linked below:

Day 1 – Overview (this post)
Day 2 – Safety
Day 3 – Rest
Day 4 – Fuel
Day 5 – Hydration
Day 6 – Friday Five: What I Read About When I Read About Running
Day 7 – Progress and Paradox
Day 8 – Safety Week Overview
Day 9 – Gear Up
Day 10 – Good Form
Day 11 – Rules of the Road
Day 12 – Running in the Dark
Day 13 – Friday Five: Five Moves for Safety
Day 14 – Week 2 Progress Report
Day 15 – Rest Week Overview
Day 16 – Rest Days
Day 17 – Sleep
Day 18 – Un-damage Your Calm
Day 19 – Sabbath
Day 20 – Friday Five: A Body at Rest
Day 21 – Week 3 Progress Report
Day 22 – Fuel Week Overview
Day 23 – What I Eat
Day 24 – What I Avoid
Day 25 – Decadence
Day 26 – Moderation
Day 27 – Friday Five: Snacks for Runners
Day 28 – Week 4 Progress Report
Day 29 – Hydration Overview
Day 30 – Water Wonder
Day 31 – Project Recap

I’m also linking up with Crystal Stine’s Write 31 Days project. If you want to explore what others are writing, hover over the “Linking Up” tab at the top and choose a category.

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