Running saved my life…

The first time running saved my life…
As the years went by, I left the Island, went to uni, completed an Education degree, got married and started having kids (not necessarily in that order :-)).. All pretty normal (what ever that is ;-)) and running/exercise took a backseat in my life! I also started smoking in my late teens, so I wasn’t all that healthy when I had my first couple of kids. I had given up smoking by the time I got pregnant with number 2 child. However I was almost 100kg just after she was born. What to do? I remembered how I loved running and decided to run everyday as a way to get the weight off! When I say run it was only a 300 metres jog at first, but it was “every day”. Then I went a little further, mostly down hill to my nan’s house – the night before, I’d leave my car at her place about 1k away and then I’d run to pick it up. Gradually I increased the distance and eventually joined a local running club. If it wasn’t for running I think the weight would’ve killed me, or at the very least I’d be very sick (& depressed)! About 2 years after I’d started to run again I found myself running 10k – 20ks regularly and I had my VO2 Max tested, the scientist said I had great lungs and couldn’t believe I’d only been running 2 years (let alone that I had once smoked).

The second time running saved my life…
My first marriage wasn’t the happiest of marriages – I was young and had low self-esteem, so when the first bloke came along and was nice to me, that was it.. Married, house, kids etc… Unfortunately he had even lower self-esteem than me and as a result he was very controlling and mentally abusive of me for 7 years! It was only when the abuse became physical that I took the 2 kids and left. I should’ve left years earlier! With in days of us leaving he violently took our oldest son (5 at the time) kicking and screaming and drove away. That was the worst 24 hours of my life – I had no idea where my child was and his father had expressed suicidal tendencies leading up to the separation. I managed to get him back later the next day by agreeing to go for a drive with my ex to talk things over. A week or so later he left the state and I never saw him again (24 years ago). I truely believe that if it wasn’t for running I would not have had the strength to leave that relationship when I did! Running gave me many things including self-esteem and the chance to think/reflect about things in my life. At the time my mum would say “what are you running away from?” when I was running a lot – I like to think I was running “towards” a new stronger, braver, healthier, happier me.  In 1999 I married my soul mate and he is and always has been very supportive of my running and where ever it takes me!

The third time running saved my life…
For those of you who have children, you know how connected we are to our kids – when things effect them, they also effect us. My oldest son started taking drugs from the age of 16 – he is now in his late 20s and life has not been kind to him. I won’t go into the details, just know that there have been some very tough days for him and me. If it wasn’t for my running and its ability to calm & centre me as I jogged through forest trails, on river/beach shores and on local roads, I believe I would have suffered any number of major mental (and probably physical) health issues & then I would have been of little help to my son.

“Exercise has a dramatic anti-depressive effect – it blunts the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress.”   David Linden Ph.d.

In the last couple of decades neuroscientists have discovered that exercise actually grows new neural pathways in our brains (we get smarter when we exercise!). The part of the brain linked to memory and learning (hippocampus) has been found to increase in volume in the brains of regular exercisers. This improves our memory and focus, plus makes us better at task-switching. As David Linden, Ph.D. (Neuroscientist, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) says “Voluntary exercise is the single best thing one can do to slow the cognitive decline that accompanies normal ageing.”

On top of that they’ve done more research into the chemicals that are released when we exercise (run) and they are very good for you! Not just the endorphins we all know about, theres a bunch more that do awesome things for our brains and our bodies! Like endocannabinoids – which is a mood-improving biochemical substances that our bodies produce during exercise, it help us reduced anxiety and create feelings of calm. Dr David Linden says “Exercise has a dramatic anti-depressive effect – it blunts the brain’s response to physical and emotional stress.”

When I reflect on my running I know its been a life saver – its helped me through the tough times and made me resilient (apart from the above I have had a minor stroke and I have a small tumour on my optic nerve – i.e. we all have stuff and it doesn’t need to stop us!).  This research has just proven what I and many other runners already know – Running is very good for us physically and mentally.

You too can have this in your life (even if you’ve not run since school) – I am developing FitMIND FitBODY to help 10,000+ runners (almost everyone can be a runner!) to develop healthier minds and bodies over the next 2 years. How can you get started moving?
– Sign up to the FREE 7 day moving challenge,
– listen to the FitMIND FitBODY podcast,
– grab a copy of the Run Forever book,
– join the Facebook Group and
– keep an eye out for the FitMIND FitBODY Mindful Moving program being released mid-late 2021.

* Why running and not other exercises (swim, bike, climb, etc.)? All exercise is good, but I believe running is best 🙂 Physiologically we are made to run, this doesn’t mean you should go from the couch to running a marathon with zero training! Let’s be sensible!  It’s just one step in front of the other.  And once you’ve got running in your “tool box” you’ll always have it when you need it..