6 Steps To Running Like A Warrior

When I took my run yesterday, i was reminded of how completely things can change. For the last 40+ years of my life, I have been telling people how much I hate running. I played all kinds of sports, but running? Not for me. "I only run to things and away from things," I would say. 

Then, this Spring, at the age of 52, I started running and I have been running three-times-a-week ever since.

Basically, the truth is that I never understood what running was. I thought it meant racing a stopwatch to meet some arbitrary standard. Or pushing yourself with your lungs exploding so you wouldn't be teased the way the last kid in your class to cross the finish line always was.  

This Spring I discovered that running, with a warrior mindset, can be an addictive and healthy personal challenge. It requires no special preparation, has meditative qualities and can do wonders for lifting your mood and working off stress.

So here are six lessons I have learned for running like a warrior:

1) Start Slow: I followed the Easy 12-Week Walk/Run Program! GET ACTIVE! and found it easy and satisfying. Whenever I missed a run or if I didn't feel ready to move on, I took the time I needed to stay on track and within my limits.

2) Consider Barefooting It: I fell in love with Vibrams Five-Fingered Shoes after buying my first pair for practicing karate outdoors. Then I went to Al Derech Burma and tried on my first Komodo Sports. I stood up and practically ran out of the store with them. Vibrams free your feet and allow you to use muscles in your feet and legs you never knew you had. 

3) Try Nasal Breathing: Are you a natural overachiever like me? Then try doing your runs while breathing only through your nose. This will leash your natural tendency to overdo and stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, calming the mind and rejuvenating the body.

4) Think Form: As in the martial arts, good form maximizes efficient use of power and minimizes the chance of injury. Keep your head slightly tilted forward, eyes on the horizon, shoulder blades down, hands unclenched, lats dynamic and body upright. Shorten your stride to get maximum use of your body's large muscles- the quads, hamstrings and glutes and minimize pressure on your knees and lower back. Lift your knees only as high as you need to to keep moving forward and keep them soft (i.e. slightly bent) always, always, always.

5) It's About Time: I run for time, not for distance. Running for time means I can run and walk as hard or as soft as I like, uphill or down, wherever I choose. It means i can pay attention and adjust to how I feel. It keeps my eyes on the prize, a long-term commitment to my physical and mental health, and not on pushing myself or competing with others. 

6) Make It a Discipline: Making running a regular part of my life, with plenty of rest and room to adjust to my ups and downs, has added a great deal to my life in general and to my warrior identity in particular. Karate is primarily an anaerobic activity, the eye of a hurricane punctuated by powerful explosions of motion. Running, at least the way I do it, is practically the definition of aerobic . Practicing karate is all about concentration and the details. Running is the "big picture" to music. Maintaining the balance between these two disciplines, helps me maintain my inner sense of power in balance.

The third part of this triad, meditation, I will discuss at a later time.