Just a few days after the inspirational London Marathon images flooded my social media feed, we were struck by a new international emergency.
No, not another pandemic…
Last week Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram stopped working globally for half a day. The world migrated to a smug Twitter, which then struggled not to buckle under the pressure. Our textual selves were suddenly paralysed… I was meeting a friend to see Bond at the cinema, and we actually had to use the voice phone call method to find each other (I know, how 2005, right?!).
During this blackout, I suddenly noticed how reliant I’d once again become on these apps. I tried not to keep count how many times my finger stabbed for the pink and purple curved-edged quadrate kids call “the ‘gram”. But it was enough to make me pause, put the phone down, and reassess.
This was not my first rodeo. Last year I came off all social media platforms entirely during a six month work sabbatical, and I experienced all sorts or revelations. I don’t just mean I deleted the apps from my phone temporarily – I fully deactivated all accounts. And peculiar things began to happen.
With a reprieve from the steady stream of tap-tap notification tings and dings, I began to vociferously read non-digital books (you remember, the paper ones?) and immerse myself in uninterrupted epic intervals of sprawling storytelling (ravaging eight novels by Murakami alone). I had not read like this since before the advent of Facebook, directly leading me to remember I loved reading and to decide to return to university to study literature. Neo had been unplugged from The Matrix.
The other most notable behavioural change was that I decided to download the Couch to 5k app (free from the Public Health England) and start running. In January I couldn’t run continuously for longer than five minute intervals, and now I can run up to 15k, seven months later. This blows my mind – I have never run in my life, was not sporty at school (I was the kid who avoided sports day by volunteering to tidy the stationary cupboard). But the app worked: the small incremental increases helped me remove what were mental more than physical barriers.
Running not only helped get me fit, not just changing how I looked but much more importantly changing how I felt. The positive endorphins lift me, the sense of achievement after a long run palpable.
My Top Running Tips
1/ App Support
Download the Couch to 5k app to start, later Strava, Nike Run Club, Lupa and Map my Run are all helpful variations on the same theme
2/ Community
While solo running is good for headspace, it’s also fun to run with others and it stretches you. If that’s not possible, join Couch to 5k Facebook Groups, or any other online running/fitness community.
3/ Sounds
Sometimes I listen to a podcast, sometimes a playlist (top tip: the free version of Amazon music does not play loud interrupting adverts like Spotify I have discovered). Most recently I have combined running with reading and listened to audio books (top tip #2: did you know your local library offers a wide range of totally free audio books?! Much cheaper than Audible). Occasionally, you can even try a run without headphones…
4/ Nature
Try and run outside rather than on the treadmill when weather allows. Take in the scenic surroundings mindfully, and breathe in the air. And when you pass people, smile at them.
5/ Accountability
Logging your running online helps keep you accountable, others can cheer you on, and you can track your progress. Realising this was one reason why I had turned my social media back on…
In April, I moved to York, and decided I had to reactivate socials. To leave social media is to become a social pariah, and while I was now a bookworm named Forrest Gump, I needed to let friends know I was still alive and update my CV on Linked In and IMDB to find work. University group chats were on Whatsapp, and societies and shared interest groups run from Facebook. And I used Instagram for my running blog.
It largely worked, I’ve kept my running up, and am next running the Run Through Half Marathon at Alton Towers in November. Next year, I hope to run my first marathon. Though in full disclosure, as I write this scheduled blog I’m conscious I have run notably less in the last month, and so am focused to renew final furlong efforts for my next six weeks of preparations.
When Instagram & friends did return in the early hours or Tuesday morning this week, there was a part of me disappointed. I’d quite enjoyed the peace. Perhaps it was the universe’s way of reminding me: don’t forget to run, don’t forget to read. Connection is key, yes, but so are boundaries and balance.
And on days when it’s hard to step away from the scrolling reels, and my winter warm apartment feels to cosy to leave for a run, I just remind myself of the runner’s mantra:
Just put one foot in front of the other. (That’s all you have to do).
https://www.instagram.com/myrunningveganjourney/
