Why I (and quite possibly everybody) Should Run

My basketball coach used to tell/yell that she never wanted to see us running. She wanted to see us sprinting. I was fast, meant to be fast, and I better beat that opponent down the court. No excuses. I got hours upon hours of windsprints (suicides) behind me. And gonna be honest, I still have nightmares about an entire practice consisting of them because somebody had to piss off the Asst. Coach. After all, we screw up as a team not as individuals.

Don't get me wrong, I loved basketball. I'm also a very competitive person. I'll beat you down the court, and I'll beat you in a sprint. But sprinting was never really what did it for me. And while I loved the scrimmage and I love the game, my favorite part of practice was the starter laps.

We owed our coach 20 laps before we officially started practice, and there was something special about that longer running time for me. I could literally zone out, find some peace for my brain, and just get into the motion of it. Checking out sounds like the wrong term, but in a lotta ways thats what it was.

There's something to be said for having an activity, a set time in your day, for something that helpful and soothing to your mental state. I don't know about everybody else, but high stress levels creep up outta nowhere sometimes and your brain just needs a break.

I went nuts when I got outta basketball. Drank whatever I wanted (soda included--which I rarely got to have), quit the structure because I got the chance to for a change...I still worked out and still took care of myself but didn't want it to be my entire life.

But thing is, that life part ends up taking over, and soon you're left with nothing but migraines and stress built up and no outlet for it. Then, I remembered running...

So when I say everybody should run, I mean everybody should do something that sets their mind on auto for a while, gets them in a place where the things of the day, week, or month fade into the background. I'm all about exercise, and everything in moderation if you decide its not for you...but my second point would be, use that time to better yourself in some way.

Because lemme tell ya, there is nothing like getting the mental relax from the craziness of the day and replacing those overwhelming circumstances with the sensational feeling of personal accomplishment.

It's my opinion that everybody could use some of that.