Kasia Mrugala

If you want peace and harmony in the world, you must have peace and harmony in your hearts and minds. – Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I have started training for my next run which will take place soon! May 21st!!!! This will be my third half marathon. This time I decided to do 8 weeks of training.  I have been running regularly for many years, so this preparation time is sufficient for me. Preparation for my first half marathon was 4 weeks longer. For beginners, a period of 12 weeks is the absolute minimum to prepare for a longer distance. I do not recommend running without any preparation, because it will hurt and you can get a serious injury, seriously!

All right. But why am I doing this? Why am I running, and why am I planning and preparing?

For as long as I can remember, running has always been in my life. As a little girl I used to run in the field or in the forest and it was something normal and natural living in the countryside. I guess that’s why I’m so drawn to nature

I also did cross-country races in high school. I remember that the races were held in parks and you raced on the grass and you had to have special shoes, the ones with spikes almost like for soccer.

I’ve been running for many years not because I wanted to collect medals and improve times, compete with others, or look for attention, but because I found amazing things in running that help me in my everyday life.

The moment when I sign up for a race, I make the whole plan in my head and, above all, I have a goal. Then, when I fill out the form and pay for the race I have this feeling that I’m ready to take action. It’s done. No way to go back. I have no excuses anymore. So, if it’s snowing, and the wind is blowing, I put on my shoes, jacket, hat, and gloves and go for a run anyway. However, when I’m ill, I don’t ignore my body’s signals, and I stay at home. The goal is important and set, but health comes first, always. 

I believe that everyone should have a goal, no matter what kind of goal, but I think it’s necessary to have one because without goals we stop growing. We are not developing. I don’t know if you know, but we humans automatically dislike effort and planning. Our brains just want to feel pleasure

“And the most common emotion of them all is the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Our thoughts almost inevitably revolve around this desire; we simply recoil from entertaining ideas that are unpleasant or painful to us. We imagine we are looking for the truth, or being realistic, when in fact we are holding on to ideas that bring a release from tension and soothe our egos, make us feel superior.”
― Robert Greene, The Laws of Human Nature

The training I use allows me to create a routine and develop good habits. For example, when I don’t have anything planned, no race, I don’t go out running as often. I fall into our human “default mode” and just get really lazy. 

During this time, the habit of eating also changes. I no longer reach for chocolates, chips or alcohol so easily. It’s much easier for me to say no because I have a race plan in my head. Besides, my shopping list looks different too. You will not find any sweets or chips

Speaking of habits, since I mentioned them. Recently I reached for a great book by James Clear “Atomic Habits”. The author explains how a habit works. How to develop good habits and how to get rid of bad ones. It’s really worth reading, I recommend it. So, for example, if you want to start running, but you don’t like that kind of activity, it’s nice to start with walking. If you don’t like silence or find it boring, listen to music that relaxes you the most, or an audiobook you never had time to listen to. I started just exactly like that. Now, I run in silence, without any distractions. This silence allows me to hear myself and it’s the coolest and most productive moment of my day. This is the moment when all the solutions or new ideas most often come to my mind. You must try it

You know very well that during the day you are busy, busy with everything and everyone, and it often happens that you  do not have time to think about yourself, about your needs, even for a second.  When are you doing this? Do you find time for yourself at all? You’ll tell me right away, Kaśka, you are crazy or you have way too much time because you say such bullshit. Well, no, I don’t have a lot of free time, but I always manage and plan time for myself every day, because I know how important and necessary it is, not only for my own good but also for the good of my loved ones.

I am a single mother, which is not an easy task these days. I’ve made a lot of parenting mistakes. For many years I lived in ignorance, unawareness, and total chaos. I just lived day by day and at the dictation of other people.

Running helped me find my way back to myself. During this time, de facto I am running and physically moving my body, but this is the time when I actually stop, in my head. This is really my sacred time to analyze decisions, and above all, time to pray. The moment when I have the opportunity to share joys and sorrows with our Creator. When you pray, God listens. When you listen – God speaks.

I hope, dear ladies, that you also have your ways or methods of looking into your own soul. Maybe some of you have also found peace and harmony in running. Whatever you use, don’t stop, be your own guardian, because the strength and power lie in us, conscious women who make their dreams come true, and believe in themselves and in their own abilities!