What I talk about when I talk about running

Déformation professionnelle

“What I talk about when I talk about running” or “Hashiru Koto ni Tsuite Kataru Toki ni Boku no Kataru Koto”, translated in Italian as “The art of running” is a memoir by Haruki Murakami. Wikipedia says it’s about long-distance running. The book’s title was inspired by Raymond Carver’s “What we talk about when we talk about love”. Why the Italian translator chose to entitle it differently, I don’t know.

I like the style: simple and smart. Short sentences, but clear, so that even a kid could understand what Haruki wanted to say. The reading is fast, with a constant short rhythm that describes Murakami’s heart beat and short breath while running. I was attracted by the Italian title, “The art of running” and I liked the reviews I found on the Internet, too. I liked the book because it made me think, it evoke emotions and inspired me. On the other hand, there are a few things I didn’t like. First of all, the book is not about running, neither about the Art of Running. It’s the autobiography of the author who was preparing himself for his big race. He talks about himself, about his daily routine, about the music he listens while running, about him being a writer, about his habits and philosophy, about his trip to Greece and about him running the original classic course. He gives us just a glimpse of his training, and then gets back to himself. He tells us which race he ran with what pace, if he suffered or not and then gets back to his thoughts. There are no further explanations. It’s more like a diary. I would call it “A diary of a runner”, or “A writer who goes running” or something. When I first saw this book, Andre Agassi’s “Open” came to my mind. I expected to find the same description of his trainings, tournaments, joy and suffering, hate, passion and devotion with a glance at his private life, explaining how he managed to organize his time, putting together his career with his spare time, love life, friends and family. Instead, we have a Japanese writer who is a runner. A writing runner. Simple, clear, essential.

Solitude

At the very beginning, Haruki explains why he loves running: he enjoys spending quality time with himself, introspecting his life, thoughts and decisions. Sincerely, I found myself in these lines, but then he continues on insisting on how he likes being alone, and how he doesn’t feel comfortable when in a group. At this point, I realize it’s not my case (or I got scared because these lines could be referring to me, too?). His solitude turns into loneliness, into Saudade. But running is not about loneliness. It’s not a sad activity, a sport of poor souls, puzzle pieces that just do not fit. On the contrary!

I have been thinking a lot about psychology of runners. When I say “I am a runner”, what does it tell about me? A runner (as I know it) is motivated, passionate, devoted, goal-oriented, disciplined, constant, persistent, ambitious, determined, adventurous, spunky, organized, self-critical. He/she is also often a strict, rigid, stubborn, arrogant, self-oriented narcissist. Feel free to add good and bad adjectives.

Running in a group is great. Every time I would move from one city to another, change school, job, or just a group of friends, I would seek for runners, trying to organize a new running group. When running alone, with no plan, you can lose your motivation and see no progress. Group running, on the other hand, allows you to change your rhythm, go further and faster, compete, learn and teach, exchange opinions and ideas, chat, have fun, get to know someone better. I would like to thank all my running buddies for sharing their kilometers with me!

Runners like seeing other runners on the street. #YouKnowYouAreARunnerWhen you are in a car/bus, going to work/school, see a runner from the window and wish to join him/her. Even if it’s more common to say hi when cycling, sailing, or hiking, there are gentle runners who say hi, encourage you, or smile at you when see you running. I have to notice there are more gentle runners in the morning, although you would expect them to be more grumpy and rude at 6AM. Please, if you have nothing to say, or don’t want to spare your energy to move your thumb up, give a smile. It costs you nothing, but will boost another runner’s energy. Keep in mind Dale Carnegie’s words: “A smile costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever”.

Music

At one point Murakami talks about his running playlist. Do you listen to music while running? What’s your playlist like? I ran for years listening to Break Beat Era and similar. I ran my first half marathon listening to Radiohead. A friend of mine listens to podcasts. There was a long period of time that I wouldn’t run if my player wasn’t charged. If battery died during my running, I would stop the training. I was music addicted. When running in a group I didn’t always need music. Now I can run both with and without it. Let’s say that now I listen to the playlists from 8tracks , MTV UK top 100 chart, or similar. I rarely listen to the radio. Whereas I saw cyclists listening to the music on road, I prefer paying attention to the traffic and never listen to music while cycling outdoor. When cycling in the gym, I bring my kindle with me.

Trainings

Murakami runs every day. He likes talking about kilometers he ran during a week or month. He makes no pause and remembers very well a few days of his life that he wasn’t able to run. It’s true that if you want to run better, you have to go out and run; if you want to learn how to paint, you have to take a brush in your hand and if you want to learn how to cook, you have to put your hands into the dough and start kneading. At the beginning it’s important to go out and run, make a habit, find pleasure in your routine. As soon as you become a runner (Q: “When do I become a runner?”; A: “When you feel like one”), you have to do different types of trainings. You have to do tempo run, hills, long slow run, recovery run, intervals, or you won’t see any progress. I remember the time I was living at the Doorms in Belgrade and I was running 45minutes 3-4 times per week. Same time, same place and it became a habit. It was nice, but at some point I wasn’t getting any better. As soon as I started doing different trainings, I noticed the improvement. If you don’t know what to change and how to improve, try downloading a running plan from the internet. There are a lot of sites with great plans, explaining every single training. From time to time I buy “Runner’s world”, where you could fine nice tips for improving your running, admirable motivating stories and the calendar of races!

Motivation

Murakami was asking himself if he is the only one who, from time to time, doesn’t want to train. He interviewed one famous Japanese runner asking him the same question and the response he got was rather obvious: he neither feels like running every day. As I wrote once in my tweet, I like running when lazy, upset, angry, disappointed or exhausted from school/work. It just purifies me, charges me with new energy and allows me to go beyond my limits. I ran my fastest 5K and 21K when I was feeling upset.

Running is a drug, but the nice one. It’s legal and you need no prescription for it. As #Asics campaign says “It’s a big world. Go run it”.