Part Two: “Spring,” the Twisty Metal Thing
Running is like the tightly coiled spring on your car’s suspension. Except cleaner, I hope, with less grease.
A “spring” is something that is able to be deformed by a force or stress and then return to its original shape once the force is removed. In addition, most of the energy put into compressing the spring is returned when it’s released from the compression. Kind of like running!
In terms of “deformation,” I have never met a runner that has not had some minor niggles and aches. Sometimes these require minor physiotherapy or massage while continuing to run, and many will just end up resolving themselves. Then there are the more serious injuries which require more serious treatment, and heaven forbid, stopping running for a while. But it’s rare that an injury is serious enough for runners to quit altogether.
We need running and we can spring back into shape despite ourselves. I know this well.
I’m actually coming off a running injury. When it was diagnosed, I thought I’d be off the road for a good long time. However, with help from professionals, a reduced running schedule for a while (which caused havoc with my ego, I admit), and the encouragement of my valued running buddies, I’m bouncing back.
Runners often put themselves under loads of physical and mental stress by expending a colossal amount of energy from both muscle and brain. That energy we put into running we get back out, just like a spring. Our energy comes back to us in the shape of a goal race or other accomplishment we set out to achieve (like running 5 km for the first time). We know we can do it – with the necessary energy expenditure and training, putting in the effort now for maximum effect later.
And let’s face it: a run often makes us feel 100% better – mentally that is – I’m not sure that applies to feeling better physically immediately after a long run! The energy we put into running can directly support our mental health. Physical energy transformed into mental health benefits. We will look into this in more depth in a separate post.
Like a compressed spring, all that effort and energy you expend now will come back to you when you need it!
Run Your Happy!
In the next post, we’ll take a look at “Spring,” the Bubbling Source of Water