SuZir
Well-Known Member
I have always run from my troubles. Very literally. Running is my most important stress handling method and I would have gone totally crazy till now without it. Most of my problems do seem much more manageable after good 10 mile run and without running I tend to turn grumpy sooner or later.
I have always done some running. When I was young, I did track and field. My best sport was high jump but I also did well also in other jumps and sprints. While at college I was too busy to do any serious sports and just went to gym and did this or that sport a little and had an active lifestyle to keep me in shape. After difficult child was born I hit the hard times. He was colicky for the long time and after that he fell seriously ill and was hospitalised for some time and after those weeks in hospital his recovery still took all I had. So when he turned a year old, I noticed that after year of not sleeping and living with coffee, candy, snacks and wolfing down junk food in the hurry after all day eating nothing had left me with almost 30 pounds that were not mine. So I put difficult child to the strollers and started running, mostly on trails and dirt roads so maybe it was all that bumpy ride that messed my difficult child's head Anyway, half a year later I was back to my original weight and fit again. And in love with long distance running.
After easy child was born I often waited at home for husband to come from work with my running gear on. And in the moment he was in the house, I was out and leaving him to deal with our two little monsters. I also did run with boys. easy child in strollers and difficult child riding his bike. When they got older, I found myself sitting never ending hours drinking coffee and watching difficult child in practises for all his sports. I soon noticed that sitting there and being seen tended to lead someone coming up with something I could do. And while I did my fair share of volunteer work and fund-raising I wasn't that glutton for punishment. So I quickly understood the wisdom on the age-old military rule 'if they are not seeing you, they are much less likely to come up with ideas to make you do something.' So I started to take my running shoes with me and went to run while difficult child was in practises. It also made it much nicer because when difficult child was acting up in practises I didn't have to endure other parents looking at me with The Look, that told 'why aren't you doing something for that.' And I didn't have to hear the mutters about how they wouldn't let their sons to behave like that and how all we should really do is to give him few spankings that would make him unable to sit for a week. (Yeah, we tried also that, even though it is illegal here, and you can probably all guess how well it worked out...) The coaches were very clear that discipline during the team functions was on them, they didn't want parents to intervene. Of course we talked about difficult child's discipline problems with them and gave them pointers in what kind of things tend to work and what not, but while practises were going on, I wasn't to intervene. So not being there just saved me from having to bear other parents. So I run.
I have found running excellent stress relief and it really releases endorphins and makes me feel awesome. It also keeps me fit and helps me sleep well. If for some reason I can't run in few weeks I start to notice it in my quality of life. Both in feeling more stressed and not sleeping that well and feeling myself more tired. My current goal is to take away one more minute from my time in half marathon and get it under 1h45min. But that of course is not the main point in this. The main point is the feeling you get, when you wake up early in the morning before the work, take the dogs with you and run that 10 miles in the trails and just feel the nature (and those endorphins running on you.) The whole day is likely to feel much better after that.
I have always done some running. When I was young, I did track and field. My best sport was high jump but I also did well also in other jumps and sprints. While at college I was too busy to do any serious sports and just went to gym and did this or that sport a little and had an active lifestyle to keep me in shape. After difficult child was born I hit the hard times. He was colicky for the long time and after that he fell seriously ill and was hospitalised for some time and after those weeks in hospital his recovery still took all I had. So when he turned a year old, I noticed that after year of not sleeping and living with coffee, candy, snacks and wolfing down junk food in the hurry after all day eating nothing had left me with almost 30 pounds that were not mine. So I put difficult child to the strollers and started running, mostly on trails and dirt roads so maybe it was all that bumpy ride that messed my difficult child's head Anyway, half a year later I was back to my original weight and fit again. And in love with long distance running.
After easy child was born I often waited at home for husband to come from work with my running gear on. And in the moment he was in the house, I was out and leaving him to deal with our two little monsters. I also did run with boys. easy child in strollers and difficult child riding his bike. When they got older, I found myself sitting never ending hours drinking coffee and watching difficult child in practises for all his sports. I soon noticed that sitting there and being seen tended to lead someone coming up with something I could do. And while I did my fair share of volunteer work and fund-raising I wasn't that glutton for punishment. So I quickly understood the wisdom on the age-old military rule 'if they are not seeing you, they are much less likely to come up with ideas to make you do something.' So I started to take my running shoes with me and went to run while difficult child was in practises. It also made it much nicer because when difficult child was acting up in practises I didn't have to endure other parents looking at me with The Look, that told 'why aren't you doing something for that.' And I didn't have to hear the mutters about how they wouldn't let their sons to behave like that and how all we should really do is to give him few spankings that would make him unable to sit for a week. (Yeah, we tried also that, even though it is illegal here, and you can probably all guess how well it worked out...) The coaches were very clear that discipline during the team functions was on them, they didn't want parents to intervene. Of course we talked about difficult child's discipline problems with them and gave them pointers in what kind of things tend to work and what not, but while practises were going on, I wasn't to intervene. So not being there just saved me from having to bear other parents. So I run.
I have found running excellent stress relief and it really releases endorphins and makes me feel awesome. It also keeps me fit and helps me sleep well. If for some reason I can't run in few weeks I start to notice it in my quality of life. Both in feeling more stressed and not sleeping that well and feeling myself more tired. My current goal is to take away one more minute from my time in half marathon and get it under 1h45min. But that of course is not the main point in this. The main point is the feeling you get, when you wake up early in the morning before the work, take the dogs with you and run that 10 miles in the trails and just feel the nature (and those endorphins running on you.) The whole day is likely to feel much better after that.