Functional fitness + a non-torturous way to run

7 unconventional recommendations

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I wrote off running many years ago. I started running in my 30s and was never a gazelle-like runner, but given my carrot-chasing nature I completed a number of races, ranging in distance from 5K to half marathon. But then running started to feel terrible so I figured those years were past me. I was fine with it.

The possibility of running again was unplanned. I was searching for women’s walking sneakers and the Brooks Ghost 15 came up in several articles, even though it is a running shoe. Still, even when I ordered them, I was not planning on running.

I was on the hunt for a walking shoe because I need more movement. My four-year-old dog James isn’t exactly slowing down but given that he gets a lot of frisbee throw time in the morning and it’s getting hotter, a few weeks back he started expressing major resistance to his midday walk. So, my excuse to move midday went out the window. I suppose I could still go for a midday walk, but it just hasn’t been happening.

James mid-leap with his frisbee.

As I thought about movement in my life at present, I had the grim realization that I do not break a sweat on a daily basis…or any sort of regular basis. Even outings with James at the beginning and end of the day involve me walking to a green space then standing and throwing the frisbee for him—it is his favorite activity in the world and who am I to deny him this joy?! Not breaking a sweat seems not awesome given the whole toxin release situation. And also, my main physical goal in life is functional fitness. I want to be strong and stable enough to do everyday things like yardwork, hauling and splitting logs, going up and down the stairs, and moving my kid in and out of college.

At first I decided to start with the doable goal of walking 20 minutes each morning, and quickly was like, GET OVER YOURSELF YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF AN EXTRA 10 MINUTES! I mentioned to Jon that after our morning dog frisbee sessions—which I value and didn’t want to give up since that is our catch up time—I would head right out. Once I am showered and dressed for the day, I am not interested in showering again later, so if any sweating is going to happen, it needs to be before I start work.

Last Tuesday when I walked my inaugural 30 minutes, it was lovely. I brought my phone to see how long it would take to hit 15 minutes along a path so I could go out and back. It ended up being a smidge over 2 miles.

The next day as I walked, I don’t know if it was the perfect weather, the bright sneakers on my feet, or muscle memory, but I suddenly felt compelled to run. And I told myself, ONLY RUN IF IT FEELS GOOD. I ended up running four delightful 30-breath intervals (a tactic I used to employ when running) along that two-mile stretch. To my great shock and delight, these little run intervals felt fantastic. And in the week since, I have experimented with the process of choosing whether or not I want to run a little based on feel instead of plan—which anyone who has ever trained for a race knows is not the usual way to do things.

This is all still a work in progress but even in just one week I have thought a lot about functional fitness and leaning into movement that feels good, not tortuous. Here is what I recommend if you want to give this approach a try.

1. Resist traditional goals

Given how good my first outing felt, my former race training brain couldn’t help but think, “Maybe I could do a 5K!” I immediately pushed that idea back in service of the more immediate goal of running to get in some cardio bursts, if it feels good. 

2. Use a different “metric”

Many running plans recommend walk/run intervals that gradually increase the proportion of running time until you are just running. I don’t want to run with a phone or stopwatch so I decided that my running metric (on the days I choose to run) would be 30-breath intervals. When I was training long distances I used to use this technique as a way to do a body scan and work through discomfort but now it simply feels meditative and lovely. 

3. Focus on the good feelings

My approach now is if there is discomfort or I feel leaden, don’t run. Since I also prefer to run off-pavement, I only run when the ground feels stable and supportive underfoot (i.e., avoiding rocky sections or stretches with skittery pebbles), especially given that I am prone to rolling my ankles. I have done enough hard shit in life. I don’t need something that is supposed to be recreational and optional to feel terrible!

4. Resist pushing

Because I felt so good on that first day when I incorporated running, I thought about doing intervals again the next day. But I resisted that urge to focus on enjoying the walk and not tempting injury.

5. Leave your phone at home

I know, I know, this may seem like a big ask, but it’s also a pretty small ask to give yourself the gift of 30 minutes unplugged. Aside from that first day when I was timing my walk, I have loved the freedom to swing my arms and also be more aware of what is going on around me.

6. Look at every day as a new day

One part of running that was both fantastic and terrible for a plan-follower like me was training plans. When I was training for half marathons, anything that got in the way of the plan—for example, illness, inclement weather, injury, mood—felt like a major problem. On my second day where I thought about adding some run intervals, it was humid and my legs felt like lead. I tried one 30-breath warm up interval and then a second. Since the second didn’t feel great, I called it on any further running and enjoyed the rest of the time as a walk. Flexibility is fantastic.

7. Enjoy stretching

I was reminded when I got back from the first day of including my four run intervals that one of the best parts of running is the stretching at the end! Don’t skip it.

I originally pegged “Walk / Maybe Run” into my to-do app and calendar every day, but over the weekend, I decided to focus on this approach for the weekdays, which are my super sedentary days. I view the weekends as choose your own physical adventure days and this past weekend that included a four-mile wooded dog hike with a friend on Saturday, several intense hours of yardwork on Sunday, and lots of time on my feet in the kitchen to prepare for Jon’s birthday. 

View yesterday while stretching! It was a gorgeous morning and I was feeling energetic so added some run intervals. This morning, I enjoyed walking!