Rage running

I have a confession. 

At times during the pandemic, I have been inconsistent with my running. There have been many days that I just don’t feel like it. The stress of rethinking the normal flow of life has left me tired and worn down. Keeping my family safe, changing jobs, and isolating from people outside of my immediate family has been a lot to process. 

I have adopted a dysfunctional behavior toward running during the pandemic: rage running. 

When my stress rises too high, I drop what I’m doing (when possible with a toddler), and go out for a run. Here is the problem: I run as far as I can, as fast as I can. You don’t need to be an exercise physiologist to tell me that trying for a maximum effort on cold muscles without a solid mileage base in my legs won’t yield impressive results. You don’t need to be a psychologist to tell me that this is not a long-term solution to stress. And I know damn well that this is dangerous territory for load management. It is the definition of too much intensity, too soon which increases injury risk.

There is another fatal flaw of rage running: While exercise is generally a positive way to deal with stress, rage running isn’t actually helping me deal with the root of my stressors.

It’s an important distinction that running is not, in fact, therapy. Therapy is therapy. Running can feel therapeutic. Running releases hormones that can elevate mood. But it can’t replace the services of a mental health professional who can help you actually work through the human experience. Relying on running as your only way to deal with stressful feelings is a compensation strategy and a way to become overly reliant on running. (Remember the post about harmonious vs obsessive running? The concept applies here.) There is a difference in wanting to go for a run and needing to run to get through the day. What happens if you get injured? An obsessive runner could find themselves in a highly stressed state with no outlet, which can be dangerous and toxic for mental health. 

It’s hard to sit with the effects of this pandemic. It’s much easier to literally run until you’re too tired to feel quite as deeply. I’m writing this to make the case that both you and I should never rage run, but rather learn to work through uncomfortable feelings as well as using pre-planned, consistent, appropriate intensity running as one stress relief tool in a (hopefully) varied toolbox. 

The pandemic has been awful and it’s not over yet. Running can serve as a source of joy, health, and relief. Just give thought to why running helps you. Make sure that your passion for running stays harmonious, not obsessive. Run with an appropriate intensity and duration for your fitness level. And please, let’s leave rage out of it. 

Katie Noble is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, a journalist, and a runner. She enjoys empowering and supporting female runners with evidenced-based education.