Some thoughts and discussions from me.

Good morning, friends! Are we all adjusting to Daylight Savings Time well this morning?

All I know is that yesterday I was up at 5:30am, and it felt like the longest morning of my life. It was great! I’m a morning person, and spent some extra time outdoors 🙂

(from Saturday)

Temps hit 70 here yesterday, and I had the itch to run, but seeing as I finished Friday’s workout with sprints, and then went for a tough hike on Saturday, I played it safe and satiated my outdoor itch with a long mountain view walk instead of a run.

Speaking of Running, it’s our topic of the day!

My history with running:

  • 2008 – started couch 2 5k
  • 2009 – ran my first 5k, and was HOOKED on running
  • 2009 summer – signed up for all the 5k’s in all of the area, and then all of the 10k’s
  • 2010-2011 – signed up for, trained for, and my first, second, and third half-marathon. Continued running longer distance
  • 2011 fall – nagging pains in hip and foot became injuries. begin to hate running.
  • 2012 – stop running and racing altogether, aside from super intense tempo and HIIT runs on the treadmill
  • 2014 – test the waters of trail running at the urging of my friend, Heidi. Fall in love, but practice balance

Currently, I’m still loving trail running, and do it about twice a week. It’s got an epic back drop of the mountains, plus the soft terrain is kind to my joints. I also never run for more than 1-1.5 hours.

is running bad for you?

However, running tends to get a lot of hate in the fitness industry. It seems those whose main sport of choice is lifting, running gets a lot of flack:

It’s bad for your joints

It runs you down

We’re not meant to run long distances

It wrecks your body

It’s no fun, and more boring than watching paint dry.

Right? Perhaps those statements have flecks of truth, but like many blunt, non-negotiable statements in the fitness industry, they’re also generalizations. I’m not a fan of generalizations in this industry.

In fact, I tend to distrust any fit pro who “shouldn’t and should’s” all over the place.

No one should run. You shouldn’t eat bread. You should do squats no matter what.

NO. Those statements are only OK if there is an “IT DEPENDS” after each one of them.

SO – the million dollar question:

Is running really bad for you?

I’m guessing you won’t be surprised by my answer: It depends. What does it depend on?

Eric Cressey wrote this Facebook post a couple months ago, and I immediately shared it with my followers, because I fully agree with his stance.

Yes, yes, and more yes.

But I’d like to add a big one to that list….

and you enjoy running.

If you meet all of the above criteria, but don’t enjoy running, you most certainly don’t have to run. There are SO many more different activities and exercises you can do instead that brings a little pleasure to your movement.

But if you enjoy running, and you’re doing it pain-free and safely, who am I, or any other person out there to say that you shouldn’t do it? I’m not – we’re not.

And then I’d like to add one small one to that list:

-if it isn’t interfering with any of your higher priority goals.

If you come to me with your #1 goal of building a good amount of strength, yet you’re running 30 miles per week, I might try and convince you to dial back your mileage.

So, is running really bad for people? It depends.

What your take?

Are you, or have you been a runner before?

Has running ever lead to an injury for you?

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