I’m often asked how I’m able to train for my running as hard as I do.  And I always answer the same way, “Man, I haven’t trained in years!”  But how can that be true for someone that goes out and runs 30-40 mile “training” runs?

It’s simple, I just go out and play.  It’s how I get my exercise, how I relax, how I escape, how I go deep into thought.  It’s whatever I need it to be.  For other’s it’s yoga, and other’s it golf or pick-up basketball.  The idea of running longer is simple for me,  it’s fun so why wouldn’t I want to do it all day?  Heck, the only reason I don’t do it more is because I have to go to work, and I want to spend time with my family.

This weekend I took my son to a sprinkler park.  For those that aren’t aware of sprinkler parks, the concept is that there are spinklers and fountains all over a concrete covered area, and you just run through the sprinklers and get soaking wet.   My son is 18 months old, and he’s a happy kid.  But I’ve never seen him running around with such a smile on his face as I did that day.  For 30 straight minutes he ran non-stop, smiling from ear to ear, completely unaware that I was still around.  By the end he was completely exhausted.  That is what we all should strive for.  Finding an activity that is not exercise or working out, rather it’s playing.  When was the last time you played like this?

I firmly believe that exercise lost it’s charm when it was bolted to the floor in a gym.  TV’s were put in front of you, padded mats were placed on the floor, and Britney Spears was blasted through the loud speakers.  It turned from play to work when all the laughing  and playing stopped, and the “workouts” began.

For those that go to a gym regularly, and actually enjoy it, that’s great.  But I think the “gym” concept has absolutely hurt our culture’s physical fitness on average.  The reason: It puts a preconcieved notion in people’s minds that they should belong to a gym, go to it regulalry even if they don’t enjoy it, and just suck it up.  Those people then join for a year, go for a month, and feel guilty for the remainder.

So my challenge to you is to figure out what physical activity you love to do, and do more of it.  Sure, you can supplement the sport (or activity) with gym workouts or other more restrictive programs, but focus on what you love.  For me it’s running.  What is it for you?

If you want to read more on this topic by someone far more eloquent than me, check out the late George Sheehan’s book Running & Being: The Total Experience.  It’s a life altering book.  It’s not just about running, it’s about making exercise fun again, playing like a kid.

photo by mikebaird