Jogging Loosens Mental Tightness

 

The Mental Ease of Consistent Running

Nothing brightens my mood like a long hard run. There is a strong connection between physical fitness and mental fitness. I can't imagine a better, healthier option for depression and anxiety.

Today was a perfect. I’ve decided I’m a morning person. Not that I hop out of bed and charge to coffee maker while singing showtunes, but I do function better early. Some people are born with a preference for mornings and some for late nights but the rest of us adapt. How many late nights did I have while working at Target? Or early mornings while in the Army? The point is I’m adaptable to either schedule, but when left to choose I pick early mornings.

My Preference

For the last 5 years or so I’ve chosen to run early because the sun is low in the sky. That’s my summer excuse at least. In winter the sun doesn’t show up for the first half of my run. That creates difficulty because I don’t like running in the dark. On occasion I’ll run through the city but it leaves me a little uncomfortable. Even with the street lights overhead I’ve tripped and tumbled on the concrete. I took a nasty scrape on my hand last year but nothing serious. The colder weather ensures that homeless people aren’t outside as much. When they are though they’re bundled up in blankets and not likely to bother me.

Loose dogs are a scarier than vagrants anyway. I cut through a neighborhood I don’t usually run in and noticed a dog trotting toward me. He didn’t seem aggressive but I stopped anyway and talked sweetly to him just in case. Thankfully he was friendly. I tried to walk away after petting him for a minute and I couldn’t shake him. He walked right behind me like my new best friend. This went on for a couple of minutes. Luckily a car pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex and he lost interest in me and pursued the car instead. I’ll run past a group of sketchy homeless folks before I’d go down a random neighborhood again.

Another time I passed house with a stout Pitbull sitting on the porch of an old Victorian in need of a serious makeover. He stared me down intently but didn’t move. Again I stopped and walked slowly past the old house, just a guy minding his own business. I can’t outrun a dog and I won’t try, well maybe a dachshund.

But whatever the risks of jogging in the city, nothing tops the whole body release of an early run.

My Release

Running breaks up tension in the mind. If you’ve ever had to loosen a rusty nut on an old faucet you’ll understand what I mean. Once you spray on WD40 and torque the wrench it breaks free with a little muscle. Jogging does that by unwinding some mental tightness through sweat and endurance. I can’t decide if it’s the breathing or the leg muscles flexing and contracting. Maybe it’s just the body’s reaction to knowing that the effort is benefiting my health over the long term. It’s closer to a placebo effect but it still works.

Tulsa is about to get hotter than a stock car engine after 200 laps. It’s partly why I opt for jogging early. But at a certain point even early won’t be enough to avoid the heat. Longer runs have to give way to shorter until my endurance is up to summer level again. My tentative goal is to run the Route 66 Marathon this year. I’ve never attempted it but if I train correctly I like my chances. It’s a late fall run (November I think) so I have plenty of time. Last year I entered the Tulsa Run which is a 15K. It got my passion back up for racing. Without a race to work towards my jogging goals fade into oblivion.

My Plan

It’s not like I don’t run but I tend to settle for easier distances and a slower pace. For this past Cowtown half marathon (February) I put a lot of other work out priorities on hold. Everything I did became about sticking to the plan and hitting my pace goal. I didn’t finish with the time I wanted but I managed to shave off nearly 13 minutes from my first race 2 years before.

The best way to do that is to join a regular group again. I think I’m ready. I do love the teamwork idea of Saturdays spent with a consistent group. I only stopped because my injuries at the time made it impossible to keep going. But I’m a stronger runner today than I was then, thanks to early mornings in all kinds of weather.