The 4 L’s of Amateur Running

From an ADHDer who’s finally learning how to achieve her fitness goals

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I’ve become a runner.

I’m not sure how, but it’s happened. I like running, and I’m getting better at it every time I do it. One of the biggest lessons I’ve been learning is that running requires preparation — and the right rationing of food, water, and effort to get my body where it needs to go at the rate it needs to get there.

To help keep my ADHD brain in line to make sure I don’t throw up halfway down the road, I’ve started using “the four L’s”.

🫁 Lungs

My dad, a former Iron Man and regular triathlon competitor, says that the first thing to go when you start seriously training as a runner is your “wind”, as he calls it. Basically, you can breathe better as you run.

I quickly found this to be true once I started running three or four times a week. The more I did it, the less sick I felt and the farther my lungs could keep up with me.

💦 Liquid

I always remind myself of what my soccer coach told me and my teammates in high school—start hydrating a couple of days before.

Chugging a bunch of water before you head out onto the field isn’t going to work if your body…