Running to make my problems more manageable-instead of running away from them

If I've so much as introduced myself to you, it's likely you've also been made aware that I like to run. A lot. Every day that I can, I'll squeeze into my day at least a good 6 miles of road and at least at the moment, cold air into my lungs. And if you had asked me just a few years ago if I'd be running this much, WILLINGLY, I would have called you crazy. The truth is, it took me a really long time for me to enjoy running for the sport that it is- not to make my body look a certain way, not to have something that I win awards for, just something I do purely for me. Running is my time: just me, my worn out running shoes, an unplanned route and my music. There's an odd sense of freedom that you get when you can just keep putting one foot ahead of the other for a set period of time and all you have for that time is yourself, your breath and whatever artist(s) you can't get enough of right now. You can just leave behind that assignment that's been taking forever, that midterm you can't get out of your head, the problems you're having with a friend, whatever it may be. For me, running is a time I set aside for myself during the day which is purely for me, without any long term plans or anxieties to guide me. Aside from dealing with injuries (which hello, hi, I'm sadly quite prone to those of the knee tendon(s) inflammatory type), going out for a run every day that's possible is an active choice I have to make on whether I want to put that time into myself. To make this choice every day is very therapeutic and it's taught me a lot about self-care, something I used to neglect regularly and didn't understand.

My point here is not that you should necessarily start running (although by all means, go for it if you feel inspired), my point is that I urge anybody and everybody to find their daily form of self care. And don't just go through the motions of it: bask in the feeling that what you're doing right now is for you and you alone. The problems you're facing right now may not go away, but at least you'll come back to them refreshed and a little more content.