When Did Running Become So Complicated?

I have been running for a majority of my life, but started long distance races about twenty five years ago. At which time, most people didn't bring a phone running, track their runs, or even wear a running watch. Strength training wasn't a thing, carb loading was a must, drinking coffee at the starting line was common and grabbing a banana and or a bagel was plenty after a run. I loved it.

I never knew my heart rate variability, my recovery score or my ground contact time. Sometimes I ran fast and sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I ran alone and sometimes I ran with friends. I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned so much by just running.

I had to learn the internal cues my body was giving me. To rely on how my body reacted when I ran too fast or with too much intensity. I truly knew what it meant to "listen to my body" because there was no tech telling me otherwise. This is something so many of my patients now don't know how to do and I think it is a problem.

One of my recent concerns is that runners are becoming so reliant on external cues they are losing confidence in their own internal cues. How often do you look at your watch to see how hard you ran instead of checking in with yourself? What happens if your watch tells says you are recovered but your legs feel heavy and you are exhausted? Or what about when your recovery score is low and you feel amazing? It is a skill to recognize what fatigue, effort, discomfort and recovery feels like. Like any other skill we need to practice it.

Today running looks so much different. Not bad - just different.

Now we have apps and data for everything. Our watch tells us our time and speed but also how well we slept, if we need a break or can run faster. We have apps prescribing our workouts, shoes designed to make us faster, and social media that tells us everything from what to eat, what to wear and how to feel.

I find myself asking when did running get so complicated? What happened to tuning into your body. To understanding the internal cues it is sending us. Maybe we have so much information now that we are getting worse at listening to and hearing what our bodies are trying to tell us.

As a physical therapist that has spent most of my career working with runners I love data and information so please don't think I want to go backwards. I have always thought the more information the better...but I think that old adage more is better is no always true.

We know so much more about running, training, injury, nutrition, sleep, mental skills, biomechanics and recovery than we did twenty five years ago. Technology allows us to monitor training and recognize patterns we may not have been able to previously recognize.

I use this information with my patients every day and it can be very helpful.

But, I also see my patients becoming completely overwhelmed and obsessed with this same information.

There now is a never ending list of things we are supposed to monitor, improve or optimize every work out, every run, every race.

There are often more questions than answers. My HRV dropped yesterday what does that mean? My sleep score was bad last night how does that impact my training? Am I doing the right glute exercises? How many carbs should I eat? Did I do a proper warm up?

Ahhh...no wonder running can feel overwhelming.

Here is something to think about and remember. Stress is not separate from training. The mental and emotional demands in our life impact how we recover, how we feel and how we respond to exercise. Yet here we are adding an entirely new layer of stress to our training and life trying to get every detail of our run and training correct.

I didn't notice when running became all about the numbers and not so much about the fun because it happened over time. But I miss the part of running that is about fun, about the conversations we have on runs, the experience of letting our brain just be and doing something good for my body.

I don't want to go back in time when we had less research, less technology and less information. But I don't want to lose the ability to enjoy running without analyzing every thing about it.

So here is a challenge for all of us: go for a run without looking at your watch. Forget about pace, cadence, heart rate or if your running app saying your workout is productive.

Instead pay attention to how you feel, your breathing, your effort, what is happening around you - can you hear the birds? Run with a friend and have a conversation without stopping to take pictures. Enjoy running alone without obsessing over what you will name the run on your app.

Twenty-five years ago I didn't need a watch or an app to tell me if I had a good run - maybe you don't need to either.

xo Kate