Roche - The happy runner: love the process, get faster, run longer

The Happy Runner

Love the Process, Get Faster, Run Longer

David Roche
Megan Roche, MD

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Roche, David, 1988- author. | Roche, Megan, 1990- author.

Title: The happy runner : love the process, get faster, run longer / David Roche, Megan Roche.

Description: Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, [2019]

Identifiers: LCCN 2018035095 (print) | LCCN 2018047006 (ebook) | ISBN 9781492572589 (epub) | ISBN 9781492567653 (PDF) | ISBN 9781492567646 (print)

Subjects: LCSH: Running--Training.

Classification: LCC GV1061.5 (ebook) | LCC GV1061.5 .R63 2019 (print) | DDC 796.42--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018035095

ISBN: 978-1-4925-6764-6 (print)

Copyright 2019 by David Roche and Megan Roche

All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

The web addresses cited in this text were current as of October 2018, unless otherwise noted.

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Michelle Maloney

Managing Editor: Julie Marx Goodreau

Cover Designer: Keri Evans

Cover Design Associate: Susan Rothermel Allen

Photographs (interior): Courtesy of David and Megan Roche

Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen

Production: Westchester Publishing Services

Printer: Thomson-Shore, Inc.

Human Kinetics books are available at special discounts for bulk purchase. Special editions or book excerpts can also be created to specification. For details, contact the Special Sales Manager at Human Kinetics.

Printed in the United States of America

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The paper in this book is certified under a sustainable forestry program.

Human Kinetics

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Website: www.HumanKinetics.com

In the United States, email info@hkusa.com or call 800-747-4457.

In Canada, email info@hkcanada.com.

In the United Kingdom/Europe, email hk@hkeurope.com.

For information about Human Kinetics coverage in other areas of the world, please visit our website: www.HumanKinetics.com

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Wed like to start by thanking our parents, for everything, but mostly for never telling us any of our ideas were bad, even when they were. That is probably the most relevant contribution to this book.

Writing a book is a big undertaking, even when the book is full of questionable ideas. Our big undertaking would not have been possible without the SWAP team. When we started SWAP, we promised athletes unconditional support on their life journeys. We never expected wed also get that in return. Most of what you read about in the book was just wisdom from SWAP team members passed on to us in phone calls, e-mails, training log updates, and plenty of dog dates. SWAP, we could never have done this (or honestly much else) without you.

To our families, thank you for giving us the courage to say, You know what? I am perfect no matter what . But even better, thanks for teaching us to say that while not taking ourselves seriously at all.

Thanks to Scott for reviewing early drafts, building us up and reminding us to take our own advice not to take things too seriously. Thank you Solmaz, Sydney, and Michael for providing feedback on an early draft, particularly your last question, But where is Addie dog? And thanks to the rest of our big running family all over the world for being freaking great.

Thanks to Michelle Maloney at Human Kinetics, who believed in us as authors when we werent sure we believed in ourselves. Do you think this book has some groan-inducing lines in it now? Imagine what it was like before Michelle worked her magic.

FINALLY, THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR BEING AWESOMELY PERFECT IN EVERY SINGLE WAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Addie dog wrote that last one, but we co-sign.

INTRODUCTION: THE HAPPY RUNNER

Every runner has the same finish line: death. That is a melodramatic way to start a running book. Heck, thats a melodramatic way to start a philosophy class or a eulogy. But its true. And its essential to ponder now, because later on, if you think deeply enough, running will constantly remind you of your own mortality.

To paraphrase comedian Pete Holmes, by talking about death at the beginning, we arent trying to ruin your morning, were just trying to help your breakfast cereal taste better (or your morning run be more fun). Zooming out can bring some clarity about what really matters to you, and what brings you joy.

Because if you dont zoom out now, a running life will do it for you when you least expect it. Whether its slowing down with age, getting injured, or simply hitting the wall in a race or training run, being a lifelong runner means making friends with your own fragility. As a 25-year-old, you can get drunk on the trails or roads without a care in the world. But eventually, running makes you sober up rapidly through aging, injury, or weak performances. The morbid truth becomes suddenly apparentas the high wears off, you realize youre a sack of bones and gristle, stardust with delusions of grandeur. Your finish line is the same as everyone elses. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

What does the ultimate finish line have to do with being a happy runner? Thats the core question we sought to answer when we formed the Some Work, All Play (SWAP) running team. Our experiences showed us that the key to a sustainable love of the running process was to practice a perspective that supports unconditional self-acceptance in the face of an uncertain running (and life) future. So we started SWAP to provide runners with unconditional support on their journey toward self-acceptance. SWAP has excelled because we talk about injuries when healthy, about sadness when happy, about aging when young. As Holmes said, maybe if we do that, then we can help their Cinnamon Toast Crunch taste even better.

Why talk about the bad stuff with running? Because running does not follow a linear progression. Instead, it follows something more like the flight path of a drunken duck that swerves and then crashes into a lake. Youll progress, youll get a bit worse, youll progress some more, and then youll gradually decline with age, before eventually dying. At some point in that trajectory, youll peak without realizing it, only to have an epiphany one day that your best is behind you. In the face of a chaotic running journey, its key to embrace the present no matter where it is. Entropy will win eventually, like it always does, so resolve to enjoy the game while it lasts.

The Happy Runner is the story of what happened when we decided that unconditional love and support in the face of an uncertain running future were just as important as expertise on training methodology. But long before the SWAP team started winning dozens of big races around the world, it began simply: as a love story.

If you groaned at that sentence, you are reading this book with the right tone. We promise lots of humor mixed with stories that might help you learn something about yourself. You are free to internalize what you find helpful and throw out what you dont.