“I can’t run because my legs hurt”
Wrong. Your legs hurt because you don’t run.
Don’t get me wrong, some people might actually have some kind of condition that prevents them from running. But the majority don’t.
I used to think I couldn’t run because my legs wouldn’t let me. When I set out to run my first marathon, I had to stop training because I couldn’t run longer than 2–3 miles. My legs were killing me.
Now I’m training for an ultra marathon.
The issues
Looking back on my journey, I think there are a few key points that most people can relate to:
Lack of movement
In this day and age, we don’t move nearly as much as we should. We spend most of our days sitting. If we need to go anywhere, we use any kind of transportation that doesn’t require us to move. How can we then expect our legs to not hurt if we suddenly introduce new movement and start using muscles we haven’t used before?
Comparing ourselves to others
If we give running a try, we think we should do as well as other people. We see people that have been running for years in our Instagram feed, running for many hours and at a fast pace. That makes us think it’s what we should be doing. Our 1-mile run seems insignificant compared to our friend’s marathon runs.
Lack of patience
We lack the patience to learn how to run, how to slowly progress, and how to enjoy running.
A few hours of research would be enough to get started, watching a few Youtube videos and reading a few articles about shoes, running techniques, and paces&distances.
We don’t understand that it will, and should, take months and years for us to get where we “should be”.
By keeping these things in mind when starting out, things will be easier.
Even if running changed my life, and I can now say I actually enjoy running — I know that won’t be the case for everyone. I would still suggest some running for everyone. Not just because it’s a great form of exercise, but also because it strengthens your legs. You might not like running, but you love playing tennis. Running on the tennis court, and doing sudden stops and other quick movements, will have an impact on your legs. Running helps build up the necessary strength to keep you from injuries.
