31 Days To Running: Day 17 — Overcome Boredom through Multi-Sports

I am still trying to get the thrill out of blogging on a regular basis again and so this is one of the things that I have yet to close the lid on. I am now on Day 17 of my 31 Days to Running articles and this has been running more or less for three years now. And now I have come to Day 17 where I am sharing that one of the toughest things to fight is boredom. Believe me, boredom would soon hit a runner whether you may admit it or not. For the most disciplined runners out there, the daily run in the morning is a habit/routine that is no longer considered boring to them. It is part of their lives. Yet what about those who have yet to make running an integral part of their lives?

Are you the average Filipino runner who happens to join weekend race events and hardly ever trains for it? You manage to finish within cutoff times and all but find it really exhausting? Then maybe it is about time for you to consider going into multisports. So what exactly is multisports? Well, it could mean a lot of things but lately it has been coined to refer to the three sports — swimming, biking and running. Think about it, you live in the Philippines with over 7,000 plus islands, yet the latest stats show that most of the people who even live by the shore do not even know how to swim at all except for the fishermen who work uin that area. Isn’t that tragic? I would consider it tragic because there are still a lot of areas that are still pristine and people can swim about without worrying getting skin diseases. And yet why is it that people would rather bask under the sun on the beach than learn how to swim?

Swimming can save your life in a natural disaster such as when there’s a flooding in your area or you happen to be in an area that is flooded. So consider taking up swimming as part of your regular routine. All the major cities of Metro Manila have local government swimming facilities that are cost effective for their residents. I’ve tried several of these facilities and I am amazed at how well maintained most of them are. For those who want it a little more private, a lot of residential subdivisions have swimming pools and modern condominiums have this facility in place for their residents. According to most of my colleagues who live in such areas, the pool is more like a decoration and is only heavily utilized during the summer season. But for the rest of the year it is just there ready to be used. The good thing about swimming? There’s resistance training and also you will practice breathing techniques. Plus, there’s less stress with the joints as it has relatively a smaller impact compared to running where the feet directly impact the ground beneath the feet.

Another alternative to boredom is biking. There are several types of bikes to choose from. You can opt to just purchase a recreational bike. It’s something that you can use to bike around the block or around town. Then there’s the training bike or road bike that they call it. This is something you can actually use for triathlon events though it is encouraged to get a lighter bike called a triathlon bike. Then for those who love the mountains and rugged terrains get a mountain bike. I used to have a bike before it got stolen. For now, I don’t want to get back to biking. I still bike though — at the stationary bikes at the gym. Other than that, I have yet to run a bike in the open roads again.

The best part about entering the realm of multisports is that you will keep challenging your body into thinking and metabolizing effectively. That’s the first and for me the most important one because each sport has a different set of muscles to highlight and utilize. The second thing is that it also helps you from repetitive stress injuries. Dedicated runners who don’t have other sports built into their training programs often end up with more injuries and often have a difficult time bouncing back. Finally, I notice that the runners who are into multisports and are truly dedicated to the multisports are actually faster runners because as one becomes stronger in one sport, you also become stronger in the other one [provided of course, you give the time and the effort for each sport of course].