I had to give a persuasive manuscript speech for my communications nursing class. I wrote it pretty quickly, but I thought I'd post it....It only had to be 5 minutes but I could have gone on and on about the benefits of running...
I distinctly remember when my high school tennis coach would give us the dreaded 1 mile sentence after practice. I would groan, hate life, and loath my coach for every 5,280 feet of that mile. During practice, I remember watching the cross country team run mile after mile while I stayed in the comfort of my court wondering “why in the world would they choose to put themselves through that misery?” Now, more than a few years and a few miles later, I am hooked on the sport.
You are probably wondering what got me started on this seemingly monotonous and painful sport. It wasn’t the physiological or psychological benefits that we hear so much about. Neither was it the convenience or advice from the center of Disease Control that we should get 30 minutes moderate aerobic activity 5 days of the week for chronic disease prevention. For me it was out of pure competition. I didn’t want my marathon-running parents to show me up, so with minimal running experience and with my parents as inspiration, I courageously signed up for a marathon and began my running journey. Little did I know, my journey did not end at the finish line of the Marathon. At the very start of my training I began realizing the magnitude of the psychological benefits, physiological benefits and convenience of the sport. If a low stress level and a healthy heart are not enough motivation for you to hit the trails, then you have my permission to use me to motivate you: “If Amy can run, I can run,” and like me use competition to get you started.
What is it that causes so many of us to experience that so called Runner’s high? Exercise is the quickest method of raising mood during depression because the neurotransmitters Norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin secretion are released in higher concentrations during exercise. For these reasons, running produces extreme psychological benefits, including stress and anxiety relief, confidence (as you lose weight and accomplish your goals, improved memory, (which is highly valuable in nursing school), and decreased fatigued (that is definitely needed during those long clinical days.) Both running alone or with a partner are therapeutic. Those long runs by myself have many times helped me to clear my mind, solve problems, and reflect on my life. Having a running partner also has its benefits. My parents, previous roommates, and now husband have become my best friends because of the bonds we formed in sharing feelings, helping each other work through problems, and reaching goals together during long runs. So weather you decide the benefits are greater either running alone or with a partner, you can now skip those therapy sessions!
We have been taught time and time again the physiological benefits of exercise. Running both increases our cardiac output and decreases our respiratory rate. “Diet and Exercise,” we hear it again and again for prevention of diabetes, obesity, pneumonia, cancer, respiratory and cardiac problems…the list goes on.” So with our crazy busy lives: school, work, family, how do we practice what we preach and prevent disease not only in the lives of others, but our own lives?
Running doesn’t require a partner, as does tennis or almost any other sport. You don’t even need a gym membership. Throw on some shoes and out the door. In just thirty minutes you can start receiving the benefits of a cardiovascular work out. It seems contradictory that taking the time out to exercise can actually help you be more productive in the day, but this is the case, at least in my own life. Running can give you more focus, more energy throughout the day, and help you sleep better. It is a convenient, cheap, and easy way of keeping your sanity!
If you, like me need competition or some kind of goal to get you going, there are so many fun races out there! Sign up for a 5 or 10k, half or whole marathon to get you started. It is so inspiring to see everyone around you achieving the same goal. It creates tons of confidence by setting goals for yourself and reaching them.
Stress relief, disease prevention, convenience, and competition are just a few of the benefits of running. You just have to get out there, run and experience it for yourself, and before you know it you’ll like me be hooked!
Here's Bry sportin his stylish backwards hat after the Moab half marathon last year.
Bry and my good friends Heather and Lauren. I didn't end up running it because of my torn ACL incident.
We are preparing to run the Utah Valley Marathon on June 13th. There is a marathon and 5k if anyone is interested!!
