“You have been running your whole life from one thing or another, this time you can do it on your terms.”
I remember many years ago training in my high school football team where every Friday we had to complete a mile run in under 15 minutes. To this day I am unsure if I ever managed to do it. I
remember running half a lap, jogging the other half and walking some portion of the rest, but I always managed to be the last to finish and barely able to catch my breath. Although I played football since middle school, I admit I never excelled in sports, I was never known as the best athlete and was robably considered below-average by my coaches. But when it came to running, I always felt I was being judged for my speed, being out of shape and my lack of endurance. I simply hated it! I remember watching on TV the Nike commercials where runners had cool shoes and slick clothing. Runners always seem to be celebrated and admired. On any summer day, you see guys outside running without their shirts on, women casually going on runs with their strollers, other with their dogs or simply looking so cool that it makes you want to go out and run. So why is it so hard then we try to do it? At the beginning of the year as I began setting some health and physical goals, I found out that a lot of people in jails and prisons are part of a running group called the 1000 Mile Club. Now think about what a one-thousand miles looks like, I would roughly guess the distance from Texas to Illinois. How can
anyone run that whole distance? Most of us cannot even complete a 5k marathon much less begin to imagine ever taking on such a challenge. However many people incarcerated with no special skills, abilities or training, have began running and documenting their progress. The idea is to set running goals in one-thousand mile increments and then every day work towards reaching that goal. I have read and heard countless stories of individuals who during their time incarcerated have run for thousands of miles. Most facilities with running tracks or outdoor yards make it easier to measure distances completed on every workout and then together with other people in the club share the progress and encourage each other to keep going. But what happens when you are in a small county jail where space
is limited and no outdoor recreation is available? Last month I decided that I was going to start running and become a member of the one-thousand mile club. Part of the rehabilitation and change I am trying to make in my life, has to be physical just as
importantly as it is mental. Its simple the better we feel physically, the better we will feel mentally and emotionally. I began talking to some of the other guys about starting the club, although no one has officially joined yet, I have succeeded in getting at least some enthusiasm going. The biggest problem
was I simply had to find where to run and how to measure my progress. Within my dorm unit we have a “gym,” (that’s a stretch) that consists of a separate open area within the facility that is about a quarter of the size of a tennis court where we can go to exercise or play basketball several times per week. The
first time I went there I started by measuring the steps around the wall and was able to figure that 50 laps was about the equivalent of one mile. Then I simply had to start running, keeping track of my progress and make my way towards my first one-thousand miles. I started by walking and slowly jogging the first couple of days to slowly build my endurance. Then I began running at a steady pace. For the first time in my life I was finally able to complete 50 laps, or one mile, in under fifteen minutes,
a major milestone for myself. Since then I have gotten much stronger, I am now averaging ten minute miles running non-stop for one hour, or six miles, every work out. According to my calculations I have just completed my first one-hundred miles. I have told everyone I know about my progress, their amazement and the positive vibes behind every comment keeps me motivated to reach my goal. Running I have discovered is just as much a physical exercise as it is mental one. Getting used to the
pain, the lack of breath and constantly having your mind telling you to stop is part of building up your fitness level and endurance. The great thing I have discovered about running, is that you can do it at your own pace. If you get tired you can go slower and once you recover you can again go faster. The
important part is to get going. I know that many times we lack the motivation to get started, as human beings we love making excuses, sometimes just showing up is the hardest part to do. What you need to know is that whether it is running or walking or swimming or going to the gym fore yourself to just show up, by simply being there you are already doing something. Remember that the biggest part to being successful in anything comes from the consistency and the hard work we put in to reach our goals.