We host today another experience sent by one of our readers (who asked to remain anonymous). it tells another aspect of how running is useful not only for the body but also, and more importantly, for regaining balance and-as the title says-rebirth.
If you would also like to share your experience, please send an email to info@runlovers.it
I read with much interest this and this contribution on your site, and both of them have enticed me to write about my own experience as well, which is similar but still different. It is the story of a deficit and how running brought it down.
Like the light running girl and like Sandro, I am very private, I don’t like to tell my own business, and do not frequent social media except a few and without actively contributing. I belong to a generation that is not afraid of technology, I love all the very useful advances of the last 20 years, and I would not go back at all. But for me, this whole virtual world must remain a tool that makes our lives easier – nothing more. Life is more and goes far beyond that.
I have suffered practically all my life from a very disabling chronic illness (sports-wise). It showed to me at the age of 20, so at the most wonderful time in everyone’s life. From one day to the next, I suddenly went to being a sick person. I used to spend my weekends clubbing, studying, traveling, hanging out with friends, and then things changed. I have to say that 25 years ago, when this disease occurred, the drugs available were not optimal in the medium to severe form that I had, they didn’t work. I don’t want to talk about that, though. Rather, it is about how my body has changed.
I’ve never been a great athlete, let’s say in your 20s you feel invincible, you’re living off the land because your body is young, you’re naturally fit, and so you don’t feel like you have to keep yourself healthy. In fact, I used to neglect physical fitness: I had a lot of fun and was always well. You simply don’t think about it; fitness consciousness sneaks in only after 35, and the older you get, the more you feel you have to take care of your body.
When this disease showed to me, I start to stuff myself with drugs, even quite strong ones, which deform me. My body is changing and I don’t feel good about myself, and at 20 years old, it causes quite a few problems. Over the years, this condition goes on, and in addition to physical ailments, mental pressure is added to it.
What’s wrong is that you don’t do sports anymore. As I said, I was never a sports person, but I did the “essential” things: skiing, biking, swimming, aerobics. Then, overnight, these disciplines began a burden me. There were moments when I could do nothing and others when I could start doing something, only to stop because of pain. I was skinny, I was sick most of the time, it wasn’t fun. Every time I started moving, there came pains that I fought, but they did not pass. So for years, sports had become a practice that I could not always do or perform fully. It had become a luxury.
What I have always envied in people who run is the perseverance in making an effort over a long period. I couldn’t even think to do it. Any effort was limited. Runners, on the other hand, would get out and run, their hair blowing in the wind, sweat dripping from their temples, the minutes ticking by, and their pace never dropping. They were breathing and talking at the same time. I would look and think, “I can never do that.” In my mind, running was the symbol of health, of being well.
Rebirth
Then things change, medicines evolve, change, improve. I find again my balance a decade ago, everything starts to improve, I become the owner of my body and myself again. The process is slow of course, you can’t expect to go back to being 20 years old, and in any case the latest drugs have heavy side effects, including exaggerated fatigue. So I have to invest a lot of time in regaining an athletic life, little by little step by step and trying different kinds of medicines over the years. Before the pandemic, I join a gym, finally return to regular exercise, break down all the barriers, and decide it’s time to get it all together, even though I’m now over 40. It is not easy – it needs some fine-tuning to restart an engine that has been off for years.
To make a long story short, in spite of the pandemic, the medications, the search for the right supplements, I am finding the foods in my diet that I could not eat for years and I am finding the spirit and the strength and the will to do so. Everything becomes more exciting, intriguing, motivating. I want to improve more and more, my body changes. I like me. I like myself more and more. I have never been so fit in my whole life.
The beginning
And then the unexpected happens, I start running. The first time I try on the treadmill, 10 minutes in a row, and it works! Then I can do it! And I do it again, a few more minutes and then again and again. I can run. Between ups and downs I improve, I run more and I improve. Longer and faster, and breathing improves. I get tips from the net, this is where I meet Runlovers and thanks to the site and podcasts, I also discover some tricks to improve myself. Of course, I’m not a fast runner, I don’t even do marathons, I think that having started so late, I’ll have to settle for jogging 10-12 km maximum, but I’m steady and getting more and more confidence and courage.
What I find out from running is that it motivates me, it improves my mood, it improves my fitness, and most of all it makes me feel like other people; when I run I don’t remember having a chronic illness, except because I have to take medicine. My mood is no longer, “This is not possible for me,” but “Okay, I can try it.” Running can improve so many aspects of our lives, but when physically you are not 100 percent, running gives you something extra. It makes you feel like others, it makes you perceive the body differently, it’s again yours, you are again in control.
I could go on like this for hours, but I don’t want to get long-winded. This is my experience. One like many. Running gives me many satisfactions, but the best one is to have reclaimed my body, to recognize its limitations and overcome them, to feel good again and – why not! – Young. So it is not just sports, it is a therapy, a way of life, it is self-love.
That’s my story, I didn’t want to tell about the experience of running and chronic illness, but how we can reborn (sportingly speaking) from a difficult situation and how this is BEAUTIFUL and fulfilling.
Kind regards.
The Deejay Ten is our heart race, the moment when we met and combined all our reasons for running. New Balance has made a version of its Fresh Foam X 880 v12 (here in the women’s version) specifically for this race-a shoe that contains all the enthusiasm and positive vibes that the Deejay Ten contains.