What Drives Us To Run
Dear reader,
Welcome to Weekly Carb-Loading! Your Sunday morning dose of running and fitness inspiration.
We believe every run has a story, and we’re bringing these stories to you, with runner profiles, home workouts, weekly challenges and a whole lot more!
All this with a simple aim - to inspire all of our readers to exercise on a regular basis! A healthier world, one step at a time.
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What Drives Us To Run
We recently came across an interesting book by two Harvard based researchers, called Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.
There are five primary drivers that influence human behavior, form a basic road-map for our actions, and guide our decision-making:
The drive to ‘acquire’ - we collect objects and experiences
The drive to ‘bond’ - we form close relationships
The drive to ‘learn’ - we are innately curious and want to know more
The drive to ‘defend’ - we protect people and things close to us from harm
The drive to ‘feel’ - we love feelings like pleasure and excitement
So, this got us thinking - What drives us to run, stay fit, and be healthy?
An eternal question, one which every runner reflects upon, and one that we ourselves have tried to get to the bottom of, on multiple occasions, and in conversations with friends and fellow runners.
(In April, we wrote a two-part piece titled ‘The Why - Part 1 and Part 2’, and in June, titled ‘Why Do We Run?’)
Each one of us finds motivation to workout, to exercise and to stay fit in unique ways, our own personal reasons for ‘why’ are different.
Some of us love the feeling of exploring, reaching and attempting to cross our physical and mental limits, for others it is the satisfaction of having completely exerted oneself at the end of the day, given it their all and emerged stronger.
For yet others, a workout is a personal and private part of the day away from the hustle and bustle of life, a place of peace and solitude, or maybe leading to a post-workout reward.
What if the answer were to reside in the drivers of human behavior?
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A drive to acquire.
An increasing number of events entice runners to enroll with unique medals, T-shirts and of course timing certificates. ‘Destination races’ allow us to conquer long distances in picturesque locations while on holiday, to acquire experiences few others have.
Pre and post-run social media uploads are all the rage, helping us acquire ‘likes’ and ‘followers’. Some, the more driven amongst us, may graduate to ‘influencers’ of health and fitness.
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A drive to bond.
We humans are social animals, and bonding is ingrained within us. The feeling of being connected to others, in person or online.
Group workout and yoga sessions, group runs and bicycle rides have provided the motivation for many of us to take the initial step out of the door.
Groups allow us to form close friendships with others having similar interests, make us part of a community, and keep the drive to workout alive, waking us up when the mind and body are unwilling.
Fitness trackers and apps too allow us to form clubs, groups and leader boards online, to meet other athletes and stay connected despite being in different parts of the world.
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A drive to learn.
It is said that knowledge is the compound interest of curiosity. Without constant learning and change, we tend to become restless.
The more we immerse ourselves into an activity or sport, the more we learn about it, which again keeps us interested and keeps us going. A virtuous cycle.
With running being a fairly simple sport, learning and experimenting with variations in the training routine, like Fartlek runs, Intervals, Tempos and Long-Slow-Distance (LSD) runs, not only helps improve timings, but also prevents the routine from stagnating.
Along the way, we also picked up knowledge on pre, post and on-the-run nutrition, warm up routines, stretches, and strengthening exercises, resulting in a stronger body through the season.
Every run, every race has taught us something new about ourselves, about our limits, and helped us push our boundaries and bodies a little bit further on the next one.
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A drive to defend.
A rising awareness of our sedentary corporate lifestyles and unhealthy diets, has led to a desire to protect our minds and bodies over the long term, not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of our loved ones.
Increasingly frequent news about heart attacks and lifestyle diseases at a younger age are giving rise to a growing consciousness, within the population at large, of the need to exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet, to be able to live a longer life.
A daily workout not only stimulates blood circulation, and helps keep various parts of the body functioning and in good shape, but also keeps the mind sharp, switched on and active.
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A drive to feel.
Sport evokes overwhelming emotions for athletes as well as supporters and viewers.
Long distance running for example, is an absolute roller-coaster ride. From the anxiousness and anticipation at the start, various levels of happiness, peace, anger, pain and frustration on the run, to the post run exhaustion, mixed with pleasure and excitement.
After a long season of training for a marathon, up to a year of preparation boils down to a few hours on the road. Just reaching this start line can be very overwhelming for some. The start of a race but the end of an epic journey.
Have we all not felt that tug at our hearts and tears in our eyes, during the national anthem of a world cup final, a heartbreaking penalty shootout, the attacks on the yellow jersey on the mountain stages of the Tour de France, or a close finish for the 5000m gold at the Olympics.
Have we all not rooted for the underdog, who wasn’t given a single chance of winning before it started, but who put up such a strong fight, and came so close to winning, that we were out of our seats cheering, shouting, and clapping at the spectacle of it all.
Have we all not watched a sport, at some time in our lives, not for the result but for the story, the energy, and the emotions on display.
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Well, we may have left you with more questions than answers in your mind.
Are group workouts your conduit for bonding? What have you learnt in the last one year of training? Is good health and a long life enough motivation for a workout, or do you seek something more? How did you feel at the start line of your last marathon, or the last time you watched a closely fought match live on TV?
Difficult questions. A time for reflection. Something to think about, the next time we stretch for a workout, or step out for a run.
Maybe a few seconds of introspection - What is it that is driving you at this moment? What drives you to run?
Beginner Workouts - Full Body Work
If you are new to workouts, and wondering how to get started, we have you covered! This section gets you started on the road to becoming a healthier and fitter version of yourself!
Over the last few weeks, we covered Warming Up, Stretching, Going for a Walk, The Benefits of Cardio, and Stair Climbing.
There’s one for every day of the work-week, Monday through Friday! If you missed any of them, you can catch up in Beginner Workouts section of our Archives!
This week we have a low impact, full body home workout, which requires absolutely no equipment.
But wait, if that’s one too many ‘terminologies’ for you, let’s clear it up one by one.
“What’s a Low Impact workout?” - It’s simply one which prevents pressure on your bones and joints (knees, hips, ankles), without sacrificing the intensity i.e. you’ll still break a sweat, but won’t stress your knees doing it.
Low impact workouts are particularly suited to beginners, the elderly or those who are overweight, and reduce chances of injury during the workout. Swimming, walking, cycling and yoga are all examples of low impact exercises.
“And what’s a Full Body workout?” - It targets multiple muscle groups, and works out all your major muscles in a day, rather than concentrate and isolate any one, like a regular gym routine would.
Also called Compound movements or exercises, these are great to activate your body and keep it moving through a range of motions, despite being quarantined at home through the pandemic. They use body weight, and recovery is faster too.
They’re also a good option for distance runners who wish to strengthen their body and core, with one or two days a week of body work, alternated with the weekly running routine, but not put on excessive muscle mass by isolating one muscle each day.
Similar to the name of the workout, although each exercise may have difficult sounding names, they’re relatively easy to follow on screen. Four rounds of four simple exercises, 30 seconds each, with a 10 second rest.
An easier version of each exercise is also provided in the top-left corner of the video. If at any time you are too tired to continue, feel free to pause, catch your breath and resume!
Tip: If you have an HR strap or a Smart watch which measures your heartbeat, you can record your activity, track your HR and how many calories you burnt!
General Instructions: Please wear sturdy shoes and loose, comfortable clothing. Hydrate well during the workout. If you experience unusual pain in any part of your body, stop immediately and seek medical advise from your doctor.
What We’re Watching
Mont Blanc | UTMB CCC 2015 - Billy Yang Films via Youtube
The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (‘UTMB’) is considered the zenith of trail running, and is one of the most difficult foot races in the world.
Part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour, the UTMB is held in the last week of August, and follows the legendary ‘Tour du Mont Blanc’ hiking path, a 171 km (~106 mi) long course in the Alps around the Mont Blanc massif, through France, Italy and Switzerland, with an elevation gain of ~33,000 ft.
While the hike takes 7 - 11 days, professional runners finish the UTMB course in ~ 20 - 22 hours, with the amateurs taking up to 48 hrs. Some spend two straight nights on the trail!
Due to its popularity, the organizers introduced a qualifying criteria for the flagship event, as well as shorter races held in the same week along slightly varying routes in the region
Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix (‘CCC’) was introduced in 2006, over 101 km with 20,000 ft of elevation gain
Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie (‘TDS’) was introduced in 2009, over 145 km
Orsières - Champex - Chamonix (‘OCC’) was introduced in 2014, over 50 km
Since its inception in 2003, the podiums for the men’s UTMB and CCC races have been dominated by European runners. No American had won either of the men’s races.
In the 2015 edition, three American ultra-runners David Laney (UTMB), Zach Miller (CCC) and Tim Tollefson (CCC), part of the Nike Trail Elite team, sought to change the status quo.
The video above is their story. An incredible and emotional story. A must-watch for any runner.
Did You Know
The Ingebrigtsen siblings are probably the most famous running siblings around. The three brothers Henrik, Filip and Jakob were part of the pace makers for Eliud Kipchoge, during his record breaking sub-two hour marathon attempt at Vienna in October 2019. (Jakob, at the age of 19, was the youngest pacer in the group)
In May earlier this year, they broke another milestone.
Henrik and Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran a 5k time trial, and crushed the earlier Norwegian road record of 13 min 37 sec, by finishing in 13 mins 32 secs and 13 mins 28 seconds respectively. Their sister Ingrid ran as well, finishing in 18 minutes!
Jakob now holds the Norwegian record for both, the road 5k and track 5k distances, having achieved the latter at the London Diamond League, in May 2019, with a time of 13 mins 02 secs!
Fun Feature of the week
So relatable! :D
That’s about it from us this week!
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We’re also live on Twitter with small servings of carbs throughout the week.
Until next week, stay healthy, stay fit, and stay safe!
- Team WCL <3
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