Every single place I go on this campus, someone will inevitably run by. Whether I am by the grotto, the lakes, or just going to my dorm, nowhere is safe! This year I began the adventure of going for runs in the attempt to run the Holy Half (now dropped down to the 10K because my fluffy adorable body was begging…goals should be realistic) and found that in many ways they are everything they’re cracked up to be. You feel free, there’s plenty of time to think, and with the right soundtrack you feel like an action hero (seriously, there’s a playlist under Spotify’s Running…try it).There’s also the sweating, the ragged breathing, and worst of all the leg cramps. After one too many times of continuing to run on a “discomfort” and having my foot fall asleep mid-run, I went into Saint Liam’s and was told stop running and stretch. I took it to heart.
Like any good English major, I took this both literally and figuratively. I will say that I do now do active stretches before runs and longer deeper static stretches afterward… though not directly afterward (who knew something so “freeing” had so many rules?!?). I also cut the mileage significantly (before you get impressed with the use of mileage here I was only running, like, 3 miles and struggling the whole way, so I dropped down to one). My body, while not as trimmed and toned as I would have hoped, is much happier with me, and to be honest I’m more happy with it (especially now that I don’t feel like I may break a foot just from walking).
As a senior looking at her last year at Notre Dame I have attempted to also stop running from thing to thing. Much to the chagrin of my friends it has meant that I am now usually late, though they’ve kindly adapted and started telling me to be somewhere 15 minutes earlier than necessary. This has been the semester of brutal honesty. Probably for the first time in my career here, I have learned to say no. Instead of hopping from thing to thing, I now make an active effort to just exist in where I am. Whether that be walking quickly from Debart to Flanner everyday for class or sitting in lecture talking over the readings. Which I realize sounds like something I should have already been doing but I’m a worrier I tend to worry or daydream in class. But no more (kinda)!
Mostly though, I have been trying super duper hard to stretch myself. Not so much stretch myself thin, but rather say yes to things that I wouldn’t normally say yes to. Everything from actually grabbing coffee with friends to staying for the talking part after Show Some Skin to going on the Posse Retreat last minute (by the way Posse Retreat = awesome. Would highly, highly recommend). Probably so far I’ve been trending better at having deeper conversations with friends. It’s the one thing that I’ve strived to do ever since reading Tuesdays with Morrie, but I’ve found more success recently.
I think this largely stems from two things. One: stretching and lingering is good for the body and the soul. I think as humans we actually desire to be truly and completely listened to. The kind of listened to where we feel heard rather than just responded to. So in actually sitting in conversation, I’m returning to something that feels right, like being able to touch your toes after a long time of stretching to get there. Secondly, I’ve been trying to embrace a new motto (something I learned from Posse): Rush to an understanding. It’s helped check my ego a lot, as I often kinda just hear things and react often to the worst possible meaning of what someone has said. It’s not a perfect method, sometimes people definitely are just being mean or bigoted. So far though it’s changed my outlook, helping me to see the best in others first instead of their worst. I’m definitely not perfect yet but it’s definitely stopped my tongue from running on and helped me stretch into conversations I wasn’t previously comfortable having.
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