Pick Your Poison

If you are a runner, I am sure that you have heard similar comments as I have when people hear about your passion. “You run marathons? My neighbor ran his whole life, and now both of his knees are shot and he can barely walk.” Or “I’ve heard that running does more harm than good.” And one of my all-time favorites, “Be careful. I know someone who was a runner and they ignored some of the minor pains in their (insert body part here) and now they have permanent damage.” In my heart, I know that these folks are just trying to look out for my well-being, but it’s still frustrating.

Before I started running, I was tipping the scale at 330 pounds, and drinking way too much alcohol during the week. And although I would consider THAT to be extremely unhealthy, I very rarely heard anyone really caution me about it. Funny, running long distances triggers people to respond with cautious remarks, but being overweight and living a fairly unhealthy lifestyle hardly created a reaction. I wonder why? I have my own opinion, and I’ll share it here along with some facts.

Based on my experiences, I have come to the conclusion that there are two main causes to people behaving this way. The first is that they are uninformed regarding running and the benefits/pitfalls, and the second is that, in America, we have become way too comfortable with being unhealthy. Our lifestyle, generally speaking, encourages less movement, and poor quality/highly processed foods. This has led to an epidemic of many people being overweight and obese.

The American Heart Association (AHA) says that “31.8% of U.S. children ages 2 – 19 are overweight or obese” and “70% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.” That is astounding when you think about it. That’s approximately 182 million American, men, women and children out of approximately 325 million total, or a whopping 56%! And what is the impact of being overweight? It puts you at a higher risk for health problems such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and more. In fact, heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. with stroke and diabetes in the top seven.

Those are just the “health” impacts. I was obese and I can tell you that it impacted my ability to enjoy everyday life. When I was 330 pounds, I didn’t sleep well, and this in turn made me chronically tired. Just walking or climbing a flight of stairs made me out of breath, and this put a limit on what I could do physically with my friends and family. And the sweat! Oh, my lord! As soon as I started to exert myself, I would start sweating profusely and nothing short of sitting still for 30 minutes would stop it. You can imagine that I was a sweaty mess for meetings, appointments, family functions, etc. Being obese impacted my quality of life!

Now, back to running. Can you injure yourself running? Of course you can. Does that mean that you shouldn’t run? Absolutely not! The benefits of running far outweigh the risks in my humble opinion, and there are many things that you can do to mitigate those risks.

First let’s look at some of the benefits. Weight loss, healthy muscles and bones, healthy heart, improved blood circulation, reduced risk of diabetes, reduced risk of high blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, stress reduction, and mood improvement, are all scientifically proven health benefits. While simply being fit has the added quality of life benefits of being able to move more effectively with more energy. As one of my friends and a personal trainer explained to me, “Fitness isn’t just about the way that you look and feel, there is a practical aspect to it as well. I want my clients to achieve goals such as being able to kneel on the ground with their grandchildren and then stand back up.” That may be the most important goal anyone can ever have!

That all sounds great, but what about those risks, like bad knees and causing permanent damage to your lower extremities? Yes, it’s true that these types of issues can and do occur. However, there are ways to manage these things and minimize them. To avoid serious injury, runners can work on the basics of running. Ensure that they are fitted for the proper shoes and replace them when they are worn. Learn proper running form to minimize the impact that running has on your body. Ensure that most of your miles are slow and easy. Never increase your weekly mileage more than 10%. When you have chronic pain, work with a physio to manage these minor issues before they become major issues. Take rest and recovery days. And finally, focus on your nutrition to fuel your body properly for the task of running.

While nutrition is often made out to be complex, it’s actually very simple. Try and eat non-processed foods such as vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Make sure that your protein sources are mostly lean, like chicken and fish. And avoid refined sugar and processed foods as much as possible except for the occasional treat.

So, I’ve been obese and inactive, and I’ve also lost 130 pounds and became an ultra-runner. One thing that I can guarantee you, is either way I am still going to die. But I can tell you this. I feel much better at 200 pounds then I ever did at 330 pounds. My quality of life has improved immensely as I can now sleep well, wake up energized, and move throughout my day with little to no effort. Statistically speaking, I most likely have added years to my life. BUT, even if I didn’t, improving the quality of those years I do have left has been the right choice for me. I picked my poison.

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