Running and Mental Health — An Ode to NRC
With it currently being Mental Health Awareness Week, I felt it appropriate to write about my relationship with mental health and how I have found solace in the form of running, something I have been meaning to write about for a while.
Like many, my mental health has taken a bit of a battering over the last 12 months. 2019 was without doubt the best year of my life: I married my best friend, we bought our first home (something that was completely unimaginable and felt out of reach to me growing up), we honeymooned in Italy and were able to celebrate my wife completing a PhD. The following year was always going to have to be pretty special to beat it, but few could have imagined it turning out the way it did.
I don’t really need to go into too much detail as most of us know what came next: COVID travelled round the world quicker than a gap-year student, and we were confined to our homes for large periods which involved no face-to-face communication or contact with friends or family and working with colleagues through a screen. The lack of real human interaction, combined with the monotonous and repetitive nature of days morphing into one another eventually took its toll on me.
To borrow a lyric from one of my favourite artists, I would go from feeling at the “top of the world” one minute, to the “bottom of the ocean” the next; going from joyfully dancing around the kitchen to music, to wanting to sit in complete silence.
I tried a few things to get through this period; including following all of the advice that was being thrown around, such as “go out for a walk” or “try and stick to a routine” which did not help. I started speaking with a therapist towards the end of the year which certainly had its advantages and is something I would recommend to those who want professional help or even just to speak about things in a safe environment.
Eventually, I found a real form of solace in running, which I wish I had done sooner. I know what you’re thinking, “great, another post about how running cures any bad feelings”, and while you would definitely be on the right track thinking that this is what it’s about, I’m not going to pretend that running or exercise makes everything better. Simply put, I just wanted to share my story and relationship with it and what it has done for me.
During the first lockdown in the UK, I tried to run a little bit, but never found it very fulfilling. Typically, it would involve the same route, at the same time of day, and with the same playlist. This became so tedious and un-enjoyable — just like the rest of the lockdown — that running was the last thing I wanted to do.
Eventually, I found an app called Nike Run Club (NRC for short). It is a completely free app that has a large number of audio guided runs from coaches for whatever you are aiming for, and it has truly transformed my attitude to running, but more importantly, my attitude to life itself.
There are also some fantastic options for you out there regardless of your level. I have heard nothing but amazing reviews of Couch to 5k and have used it a few times myself. If you haven’t run for a while or want to build up your confidence with running, or have never been running, I would highly recommend starting with that.
With NRC, I have found the audio guided runs bringing a real purpose and energy to my running, along with providing interesting insight and advice. I have gone from going for normal runs whenever I can be bothered or only when the weather is right, to following their half-marathon training program, which involves two recovery, or light, runs a week, two speed runs such as intervals or Fartlek, and one long run to end the week, increasing in distance as you move through the program. That’s five runs a week: five reasons for me to leave the house with a purpose, five reasons a week for me to feel a sense of achievement. The effect that it has had on my mental health, and the improvements I have been able to see and measure in my physical health, really are invaluable.
In so many of the speed runs, one of the prevailing comments made is “one more to go”, or “the only one that matters is the next one”, regardless of how far into the run you are or how many sprints you actually have left, and that “one more to go” attitude has begun to become ingrained in me. For someone who severely struggles to focus for one thing for more than 5 minutes, or has to be doing 3 things at once such as watching a TV show, playing a computer game and cooking at the same time (no wonder everything gets burned), that attitude of focussing on the now and breaking things down has really started to become ingrained in my day-to-day; and combined with the feeling of achievement (and fitness) that comes from the running, the net effect is incredibly powerful. There are so many other messages or techniques that have been told to me by the coaches in the app during the runs that have stuck with me and are transferable to other parts of life, such as relationships and work.
I have also found it as a good “escape” or “reset”, at the end of a working day. It has been great to sign off and switch into a different mode, rather than just moving from chair to sofa in the same room, while it can also work as great motivation. For example, while doing the half-marathon training, the week starts with a light 20-minute recovery run, which I normally do on Monday morning. Knowing that I have a light, 20-minute run to do makes it a lot easier to get up and go, and gives me an immediate sense of achievement to start the working week.
Celebrating the wins, in the form of any win, is so important, particularly right now. This is something that NRC has really embedded in me and tries to ensure you do through the form of your audio guiding coach — celebrating hitting 1k, 30 minutes or whatever it may be, and forcing yourself to smile or laugh, when running, and encouraging you to do the same when at home.
The runs are not just there to serve as motivation, or targets, there are also some incredibly interesting and inspiring runs, such as athlete’s stories about overcoming adversity, and reaching the top of their field, but also mindful ones in collaboration with Headspace, or the recently added Cycle Run, which is two 30-minute runs talking about the female menstrual cycle and its impact on sport and training, something that I found fascinating and taught me so many things that I was so oblivious to.
Unfortunately, I am going to include the selfish brag here about what it’s done for my actual running ability. Since taking this on, I have done the half-marathon training plan as mentioned, and I ran my first half-marathon earlier this month in 1 hour 45 minutes which I am still in absolute shock about. It is something that I know would not have been possible without using that app and going through the training program, but also without the benefits for my mental health that using it had provided. I have gone from barely running 5km to a half marathon in the space of 4 months. At the time of writing, I have clocked up 314 miles in 2021.
All of the above being said, running might not be for you, which I completely understand. I just wanted to share my experience and how running can have a positive effect on mental health, a topic that appears to finally be getting the attention it deserves after years of seemingly being taboo.
If anyone reading this wishes to ask questions or talk about running or mental health, then I am certainly a willing listener.
Here’s to many more miles of running, and to more openness about mental health.
Originally published at https://timhutton.co on May 13, 2021.
