On Running

When you think about what it means to run, you probably think that it means setting out from a start line and moving at a certain speed until you've either reached a finish line or you simply can't go any further. 

And you would be right. 

In recent years, there have been a lot of attempts to change the definition of running, but it really depends on what you're working toward as to what kind of definition works for you. 

Right now, something called "Jeffing" is increasingly popular. This is the idea that you can accomplish a further distance, usually in a very reasonable time, by actually incorporating walk breaks into your run. A lot of folks will complete an entire marathon by running for a few minutes, then walking for a few minutes. "It's a great way to meet your goal." 

And yes, it can be. It isn't always, but it can be. It depends on what your goal is. 

The problem, for me, is that this approach changes the demands that the "running" puts on your body. So if your goal is cardiovascular endurance and long-distance stamina, then jeffing is not the ultimate goal. You don't want to be able to run and walk; you want to be able to run and endure. 

If, on the other hand, your goal is simply to cross the finish line of a long-distance race, then maybe jeffing is what gets you there...and keeps you able to walk the next day. (Actually, if you train correctly, you should be able to properly run even a marathon and still walk the next day.) 

To me, too many folks are selling themselves short on what they are capable of when they let themselves walk during a run. If you train yourself to put easy things in the middle of hard things, you'll never truly know how many hard things you can do. And that might come back to bite you some day when you're stuck in a hard thing you can't get out of.

I mean, we've all been there - in the middle of a hard season when all we want to do is breathe for just a minute but life as we know it won't let us. What do you do when you can't "jeff" it? 

See, that's what I'm really talking about - what does it mean to you to "run"? What's the goal? What are you trying to build in yourself? 

If you're building stamina and endurance and strength and resolve, then you need to run. If you're looking for something you can depend on when you can't control the circumstances, then controlling the circumstances isn't going to help you. 

I've been a runner for 11 years. Some days are harder than others. But over the course of these 11 years, I have trained myself to be able to push through whatever life throws at me...at a pace that I don't always control. And that, to me, is invaluable. That's why I got into running - to build the ability to do this. 

Jeffing can be helpful in the right circumstances, but let's be clear - jeffing is not running. It requires something different in you, builds something different in you, works different muscles (both physically and mentally). 

At the end of the day, only you can decide what works for you and what's getting you to where you want to be. For me, I'm a runner. 

And as ideas like these gain more and more ground, there are fewer and fewer of us left.