‘I switched up my monotonous running routine and had a mini revelation’

There’s a place in this world that will mean something special to you. Perhaps it’s a mountain, beach, or waterfall that you had to hike an hour to find.

It may be a street that is unremarkable to everyone else but for you holds a memory that has become part of your very being.

This place for me is a short walk from my home.

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It’s a wooden seat that faces out over an industrial view of the harbour. I have sat in that spot dozens of times, usually at night. I watch the lights reflecting on the water; on a clear night, Venus shines brightly in the sky.

Most days I pass it, usually on a run. Reminding myself of this place has become part of my routine.

We are told that routine is everything, especially in the past 18 months when the usual markers of time have become blurred.

Home is work and work is home. We exist in one space, not two or three. Weekdays are weekends, and weekends start without any fanfare.

I like routine. It gives me a sense of control, order and momentum to my days. I like being organised. I like sitting at my desk (aka the kitchen table) on a Sunday night, writing out what my week ahead looks like.

But I have to remind myself that I also love, and thrive on, difference. Different places, different faces, different ways to think about and observe the world.

There has been a sameness to my days that has worn down a bit of my spark.

Even my running – a source of solace, spontaneity and joy – had become dull. I was mindlessly thrashing out my typical routes, going in the same direction and running for the same amount of time.

I was running just to get it done. And the monotony was killing my spirit.

I even felt it with the weather. I live in Sydney and we are blessed with blue-sky days most of the year. But I found myself craving a few rainy days. Permission to nestle in and draw the blinds.

I wanted to look at clouds, watch water droplets on the window and see leaves blown around by the wind.

I felt stuck in my mind, too. I was trying to solve a few life problems and I wasn’t making any headway. I was doing all I could to wrestle my brain into another shape. It wouldn’t budge and I was frustrated.

Then one day, the rain came. It was alive and unpredictable, and all I wanted to do was to run into it; to be part of the wind and the cold. I had planned my jog for later in the day, but I threw out the schedule and laced on an older pair of shoes that I keep for puddles and mud. I couldn’t get out the door fast enough.

I raised my face to the wind and let the drops fall on my skin. My inner child came out to play, leaping over mini streams in the gutters.

And without thinking about it, I ran my usual route the other way around – and more. I found myself zipping up laneways, jumping up stairs and adding extra loops just for the sake of it.

My heart was leading my feet and I was just along for the ride. After a while, I was back near “my spot” but this time was approaching it from the opposite direction.

And it was a mini revelation: there was my place, exactly the same, but oh-so different. I was seeing it anew.

I took my phone out from my waterproof jacket and took a photo. I needed to mark this moment, and not for nostalgia. To be honest, I was quite shocked that I had become so wedded to my routine that my view was, quite literally, one-directional.

My stuck brain became unstuck.

Suddenly, my problems seemed solvable and my spirit was restored. Since then, I have found freedom in mucking around a bit with my routine. I run at different times of the day. I deliberately change direction. I mix things up. And I don’t even need the rain to help me.

Kumi Taguchi is the host of Insight, Tuesdays at 8.30pm on SBS.

Kumi’s tips for running

• Invest in some wireless headphones: Running is about freedom, and these will give you that in spades.
• When you’re on the fence about heading out: Say to yourself, “I get to run” not “I should run”. It makes all the difference.
• Be prepared to change things up mid-run: You might have told yourself you’d be back home in half-an-hour. But if you want to go further, do it. Follow your heart and your body will do the rest.