Run for Your Life: How to Run, Walk, and Move Without Pain or Injury and Achieve a Sense of Well-Being and Joy

by Mark Cucuzzella

Simply put, we need to grab our kids and our old folks, get outside, and build movement, healthful food, and joy into our communities. It’s not just about running. If you prefer to walk—or garden, or hike, or play golf—most of what you’ll find here applies to you, too.

#truth

Most of those in the military with whom I work admit that they hate running. But when I frame it as “slow jogging” and get them outside and moving, it is fun to watch their expressions change. I emphasize soft and springy landings, in addition to the running principles described above—all executed at a slow speed. The endorphins released are evidenced in their smiles.

Slow joggers: Air Force!

You are not training to run an event. What you are training for is to live a long and productive life and maintain health optimally. For that there is no question that whatever is sustainable is the best type of training. —DR. TIM NOAKES

Running to live a long and productive life.

If you think your stress is going to kill you, it just might. When stress is perceived as negative, with a feeling of loss of control, then the fight-or-flight (adrenaline) response is activated for prolonged periods. Cortisol, other glucocorticoids, and clotting factors are stimulated. Severe sympathetic stress can even switch off neurotrophic growth factors, to the degree that even exercise won’t restore a stable state. You end up marinating your daily life in a damaging biochemical stew.

When you suffer physical or mental stress (which can be caused by inactivity), you may seek relief through medications. But when we look carefully at a broad range of studies on the effectiveness of pharmacotherapy for stress, depression, anxiety, and cognitive impairment, drugs offer little, if any, benefit. (Pharmaceutical companies often design their own trials, and they publish and promote results selectively. Studies with negative or questionable results often go unpublished.)

“Running has shown me that you can be stable and productive after addiction. If you want a good life bad enough, it’s up to you to take control of it. You have to believe in yourself, recover your self-esteem, and mend the damage you have caused to family and friends. Find something that challenges you physically and mentally, and dive in.”

(1) A jogger is someone who is “born again” physically, and seeks to convert and reform by preaching running’s benefits of longevity and reduced heart disease. As new challenges arise, the jogger desires to be (2) a competitor, which offers him an even longer break from the office or a boring daily routine. This stage chooses performance over health, and no sacrifice is too great. Then the jogger or competitor who is no longer obsessed with specific health benefits, and no longer needs the excitement of events, becomes (3) a runner. Finally, she sees running in perspective, Sheehan explains, as “the fusion of body, mind and soul in beautiful relaxation.”

The Department of Defense reported 8.3 million days of missed duty between 2005 and 2009 from preventable musculoskeletal injuries. These include overuse injuries, sprains, strains, dislocations, tears (ACL/cartilage), and spine problems, costing the military $1.5 billion a year in labor replacement, medical care, and long-term disability.