About a year ago, I bought a pair of running shoes that were designed to cushion my feet. Over this past year, I’ve accumulated about 50 miles on these shoes, which is almost nothing. Considering I run a minimum of 2 miles on each run, I clearly have not utilized the shoes to their full capacity.
Running has always been fascinating to me. Whenever I would see people running under the sweltering sun, I admired their determination to push through the heat, dehydration, and pain. To me, it seemed like an impossible task, but to them it feels like nothing. Once you reach a runner’s high, it’s possible to do almost anything. It’s something I so desperately want to achieve, especially since many runners say it has been good for their mental health. I want to be able to hit the pavement running, with no care other than what song is playing through my headphones.
I have attempted to achieve this feeling on multiple occasions, but it never seems like I can crack the code. I also suffer from shin splints — a runner’s worst nightmare. That tightening ache in my shins is a feeling I know all too well and one that I despise. I have done plenty of research to understand why shin splints occur, potential ways to prevent them, and the potential long-term effects. Regardless of how much research I’ve done, I cannot seem to get rid of them. The only time I am able to get rid of them is when I start to overthink my running form, which leads me to run unnaturally. I know I need to fix my form, but I don’t want to look like a fool while doing it.
Like many things in my life, I decided to stop overthinking running this past semester. I have to be honest and admit that it’s been a few weeks, but I realized I needed to make running fun for myself. In my journey to understand shin splints, I was exposed to a plethora of running content online, which naturally led to me developing a feeling of inadequacy as I wondered, Why can’t I do this? My inability to run almost seemed embarrassing, but it’s not. Nothing is ever that deep. If I decided to run, getting out and trying to run as much as I can is the best I can do. While it doesn’t mean that I’m signing up for a marathon any time soon, effort is always the most important thing. I may not experience a runner’s high, but the sense of accomplishment I feel after a run is just as good enough.