Numbers vs naked

Runners are addicted to numbers. It doesn’t matter what device we choose to record them on, the digital age feeds our habit ceaselessly. Distance travelled… best time…heart rate…..steps taken…calories burnt…elevation climbed…and so the list goes on. Numbers are everywhere. It’s hard to imagine a time now when runners measured their progress by a stopwatch and nothing else.

Digital technology has definitely helped measure and improve the performance of runners/joggers/plodders everywhere. There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing on our shiny screens that we’ve run our furthest distance ever or achieved a new personal best. It’s what many people run for. It’s what motivates us to keep getting out there week on week, year on year. These achievements are exhilarating. They inspire us to keep going, make us realise we can achieve goals we never thought possible, and are permanent reminders of our personal triumphs.

When I started running, I genuinely don’t think I could have done it without my phone. The Couch to 5k app provided a plan, a focus, and – most importantly of all for me – affirmation. Each week, I ticked off completed runs, gave myself five stars when asked how I felt about my run, and took pleasure and pride in measuring my progress. It was an essential aspect of my motivation.

But that’s not the whole picture, particularly when considering the mental health benefits of running and jogging. Numbers are most definitely a double-edged sword. For while they can exhilarate us when they’re saying what we want them to say, they have the potential to cause an equal measure of misery when they’re heading in the opposite direction.

When I was planning the Why Run? podcast, I remember going for a walk with an old friend of mine and we chatted about the benefits of running and why I wanted to do the show. When I said that life always feels better after a run, my friend laughed and replied: ‘Until you look at your time and see it was slower than the previous week!’

And that is so true.

So should we be checking our distances and times routinely? Is this just a part of running in the 21st century? Or should running be embraced as the opportunity it is to escape the digital world? After all, running is one of the few opportunities we have in life to connect with nature and the outdoor world… both of which are vital for our mental health and well-being.

Having run for several years now, I believe it is very important to consider what you want to achieve with running and what measurements are helpful and which are not. If you’re training for a marathon, you obviously need to be able to know how far you’re running and, if you care about time, to know how fast you’re going, and to adjust your programme accordingly.

If, like me though, you’re running to keep fit and to improve mental health then these numbers just aren’t important. In fact, they definitely add to stress levels. I think my problems started when I began upping my distances to train for a 10k. Nothing wrong in that, but it definitely shifted my mindset. Then I was injured (unrelated) for six weeks and since then I’ve been struggling to regain my natural pattern. Lately running has been feeling much more effortful, much more hard work.

I’m not sure of the solution. I’m trying a few new things. But one thing I do know though is that, at the moment, I don’t need to know-  the distance travelled, how fast I’ve gone, how many calories I’ve burned, how many stairs I’ve climbed or how many steps I’ve taken - to feel this.  These measurements are just adding to my stress levels.

So for now, I’m going back to basics and this morning I went running without my phone. Yeah, I did it! It felt slightly unsettling and as though I’d left an essential limb behind, but it was OK. I took a route that I’ve taken a hundred times before, so I didn’t feel completely spooked and could judge the distance reasonably accurately.

But just running without my phone this morning, meant my distance wasn’t added to my total steps for the day. Just knowing I’m sticking two fingers up at my phone’s passive-aggressive message that ‘your average steps are down this month’…feels like a minor victory in the on-going battle with technology.

I’m not saying I’m going to run “naked”  - without my phone not clothes! – forever. In fact, I’m sure I won’t. But just trying to think more consciously about what I want from my phone, what I want from my running, feels like a step in a positive direction.

Oh, and I’m going to do my best to tap on that little Health app heart icon far, far less often. I don’t need these numbers. I’ll let you know how it goes…

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And we’re off…the launch of Why Run?

Oh my God, I can’t believe I am FINALLY launching my Why Run? podcast. To say it has been a difficult birth, wouldn’t be strictly true. But it’s certainly been a very long labour (of love) indeed.

It’s been quite a journey for me as with extremely limited broadcast experience and a complete lack of technical know-how, it has taken me quite a while to get to this point. (Thank you YouTube.) Add to this, the need to carry on with my day job, a global pandemic and a few other things requiring my attention.

One of the best things about the planning and preparation taking so long, is that it’s been the most amazing motivator to keep running. When I go for a run, I always try and think about anything other than how far I’ve got to go. Having Why Run? on my mind has been a great motivator for two reasons. Firstly, every run provides new source material for what I’d like to talk about. And secondly, I can hardly give up running, if I’m trying to launch a podcast on its amazing benefits!

Whatever exercise/activity/pastime we do, it always requires motivation to keep going after that initial flurry of enthusiasm. That source of inspiration, that ‘you want to do this’ or ‘you must do this’ voice, is different in each of us. And that’s what fascinates me - and made me want to do Why Run?

Each of my guests on the show has taken up or continued running for a different reason. In the first series, I talk to Sarah who runs to help keep her mind clear and prevent her drinking. I talk to Dan, who has experienced severe depression in the past and finds the training for challenge events a huge source of motivation and mood lifter. And Coco who faced extreme difficulties after leaving an abusive relationship and used running to provide some sense of control and self-worth when she needed it most. And that’s just for starters.

For my friends and family who have known me for a long time, I’m sure there are a few raised eyebrows or muffled sniggers when I now describe myself as a runner. I was always the party girl and any form of sport for most of my life has been a complete turn-off.

As a child, my idea of living hell was primary school sports day and my only accolade from these occasions was coming second in the sack race…once! Competitive sports were the worst of times for me and, like many teenagers, I placed the furthest distance possible between myself and the PE teachers when I got to secondary school. 

When I was 19, my then-boyfriend bought me a pair of running shoes for my birthday. Looking back now, it was a bit weird, as at the time I smoked 20 a day and spent many of my evenings in the pub. But he, being a runner, obviously had my best interests at heart and I can still picture the shoes today. Bright blue Nikes with a yellow tick. At the time, I did my best to impress him and went on a single jog of around three miles without any training that just about half killed me. No great surprise then that it left me feeling achy and miserable and I’m sure my running shoes were only ever worn to the shops after this mad burst of effort.

Following the Couch to 5k three years ago, was definitely a breakthrough moment for me. Its gradual build-up and sense of achievement week-by-week, bowled me over. I know this sounds incredibly naive to all of you out there who have always enjoyed sport or a challenge, but it was new to me. (I’m well-known for being rather slow and stubborn when it’s come to heeding good advice.) And I’m sure if it has taken me this long to find well-being and fulfilment through exercise, then I’m not alone.

I still have zero interest in competitive sport. Partly because I’m never going to win anything at my age and my speed; but more importantly, because I actually find measuring distances travelled, calories burned, average speed per km…and so on….all a complete turn-off. I appreciate not everyone agrees, but that’s just me. Also there are already a thousand sites and podcasts dedicated to helping you improve your personal best.

I am so excited about launching the Why Run? podcast series. This really is happening. Thanks to my family and friends who, over the last year, have had to tolerate lots of conversations about the launch of Why Run? and have been incredibly generous in providing puppy-like praise and affirmation along the way to help keep me on track.

And thank you most of all to my guests, who have been so generous in sharing their personal experiences for this first series, without really having a clue as to what they were signing up to. Chatting to my guests is my favourite part of this whole podcast-thing and I know you will love hearing their wonderful, open, enlightening and life-affirming interviews.

We’re on the starting line. It’s time to launch our first challenge. So let’s get on our marks.