Two Middle-Aged Guys Run a Lap Around Ilsan Lake Park
Running · Published 3/25/2024 ·
Even just going to the gym, taking a shower, and coming home — I think that counts for something. That’s how hard it is to get yourself out the door to exercise. I met up with a friend who doesn’t usually run, in front of the lake park, to try and break the ice. We’re both in our mid-40s — one of us is 81kg, the other 99kg. The plan was an easy, gentle run, and you don’t need any special gear. Just slip on whatever old sneakers are lying around the house, and that’s it…
It’s his first time running, we’re not young anymore, and there’s the weight to consider… so easy running it is. No fixating on times, no numbers or rep counts to show off to anyone — this isn’t that kind of run. It’s just two guys taking it one step at a time, for the sake of their own health.
For someone who doesn’t normally run, even a single minute feels like you might drop dead right there on the spot. That’s how unfamiliar the changes in your body feel. Your heart starts pounding over 140 beats a minute, the sweat is already dripping after just one minute, your body heats up and you’re gasping for air.
And your brain pipes up: Stop right now! Go find somewhere to sit down. Wouldn’t a cold glass of water — or a beer — hit the spot right about now? How about we head over to the smoking area, light one up, and think about whether we really want to do this exercise thing? The weather’s so nice, so why are you out here doing this? Just sit down and rest. Keep running like this and your knees or ankles are going to give out! Sudden exercise doesn’t help your health — it actually hurts it! And on and on… The one person dragging on every piece of knowledge I’ve ever picked up to sabotage the workout is no one but myself. Nobody’s telling me not to exercise. If anything, they’re telling me to do it… In the end, “the fight with yourself” really is exactly that — no metaphor about it.
For me, I run here and there, and I’ve done a few laps around the lake park before, so I’m used to it — but my friend who ran with me is the real hero. Other than a 10-minute jog back in his army days, I doubt he’s ever run for 30 minutes straight in his whole life. With the 8-minute cooldown, the actual run was 30 minutes, but it was a cooldown after covering 4 kilometers, so hats off to him. Tomorrow he’ll probably say he’s dying. Aches all over, joints acting up, knees feeling like they’re full of fluid, lower back starting to hurt, and so on…
But our bodies are healthy ^^ And strong. One slow lap around the lake park isn’t going to break them. If anything, it makes them healthier…
I really should run more often, but I keep losing the fight with myself.
One lap around the lake park is about 4.7km.
I tracked the workout with a Garmin Enduro 2. It came out about 50 meters off from the Apple Watch Ultra — the Garmin seemed to give a slightly more generous distance.
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