Running Scared

So my little boy, Jackson, got himself a 'boo boo' the other day (I know, I know, the Americanisms are infiltrating the vocabulary of our household at a rate of knots). He was running down the street on his way back from the park and he fell, grazing his knee. After the obligatory "Up you get then!" style encouragement from me wasn't working, I resorted to cuddles and a liberal smear of 'magic cream' for his knee, which seemed to do the trick.

After his nap, we decided to go to the park again (when it's on your doorstep you've got to make the most of it). As we were getting ready he said "I'm not running anymore, Mama".

"Why not?' I said, 'Because you got a boo boo?".

"Yes", he said, "I'm scared of running".

Now this is coming from the boy who runs EVERYWHERE.

He's a toddler.

Toddlers LOVE running.

With this in mind, I asked him "Do you remember when Mummy went running and she fell down and got a boo boo?" (I fell flat on my face a little while ago. It was neither pleasant, nor pretty).

"Yes", he said cautiously.

"Well, I didn't get scared of running. I love running. It's so much fun. Don't be scared, everybody falls down sometimes".

And with that, the subject was dropped and we carried on getting ready to go out.

When I started this blog, I asked a few of my friends for their feedback. Many obliged, and I found it incredibly useful, not least because one of the comments got me thinking about writing this post.

My friend Sarah was really sweet about the blog and told me it had really struck a chord with her. She explained why:

'I really think I want to get into running more. My fear is that I won't enjoy it enough and I will hate it once I start - I think the thought of failing scares me a little!!'

So here's what I think about that:

ANYTHING NEW IS SCARY

The trick is not letting your fear prevent you from trying something you may grow to love. Oh, the things I wish I'd done in my pre-child life, when I didn't have to juggle babysitters and maternal guilt just to get my legs waxed (but let's not go there). At the end of the day, if you don't try, you can't fail and I think that's why many people, me included, put off things that scare them, because they don't want to feel a failure.

If you're reading this and thinking, "look I like the sentiment here, but running's just not for me", then find out what is for you. Find something that you're scared of and give it a go. Blogging is something that I've always wanted to do, but it scares me silly to actually put anything out there. If you had any idea how petrified I get when I'm about to publish a post, you'd wonder why I bother. And while I'm sure there are some readers who wish I hadn't bothered, at least I'm trying. At least I'm exploring the new despite my fear.

But back to Jackson, as he has some advice for Sarah, and anyone else thinking about taking up running, too. There we were, on our way home from the park for the second time that day, when Jackson announced that he wanted to get out of his pushchair. To run. As he climbed out he said

'I'm not scared of running, Mama. Running's good.'

And off he went. Flying down the street, arms out to the side like an aeroplane, laughing his little head off.

Jackson has a point. Running is good. It's not meant to make you feel like a failure or like you're not doing it right. It's meant to make you feel free, like a toddler does running down the street. When Jackson gets out of breath he stops for a little while until he's ready to run again. He doesn't push himself to the point of exhaustion or frustration, because that wouldn't be good. Or fun. Jackson loves running because he likes how his body can make him go fast. He likes putting his arms out to the sides and pretending to fly.

Seriously, would you take advice from this lunatic?

Now I'm not suggesting that you impersonate an aeroplane when you run (unless of course you want to). Nor am I implying that running is effortless. It's hard to begin with, and you have to put a fair bit of effort in to start seeing results. If you haven't run for a long time (since toddlerhood maybe?), you'll need to give your body a chance to catch up to what you want it to do too. So take it slowly - not too fast, not to far - and give it time.

'They say' that 21 days is long enough for something to become a habit. Well 'I say' give it 3 miles, rather than 3 weeks. With a good Couch to 5K running plan under your belt, you'll be running 3 miles in just over 2 months. 2 months. That's a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things, and you'll be able to run 3 flippin' miles!

Then just decide. Decide if running(or whatever else you've tried) is good for you. If it's not, that's no failure on your part, because you tried, and you found out. But if you're lucky, by the time you've made your decision you might have experienced moments when you've felt like you're flying too.

So don't be afraid to fail, or fall (like me and Jackson) and you might just find that you like running so much that frankly, it scares you.