Human legs are heavily optimized for walking. Running is a hunting/fleeing mechanism and it just feels wrong for me to artificially simulate that stress environment.
However, I find that taking this time "off" from my usual activities, especially during the work day, is like a breath of fresh air (pun not initially intended).
Yes, I also find that walking allows me to either listen to podcasts, music, or just think about random things. I will even start walking around my apartment or my parents' garden when I need to think over a difficult problem.
But I find, more and more, that being "on" all the time and trying to optimise every last minute of the day isn't all that... optimal.
Taking, say, an hour off work every day [0], during which I absolutely do not think about work at all, and only focus on the feeling of my muscles working or my breathing during a run has enormous consequences on my thinking about work when I actually get back. I find that this helps be much, much more focused than had I staid at my desk browsing random things on the internet or even walking and having my thoughts drift back to whatever it was I was working on. Bonus points for this removing my back and other random pains while sitting.
To me, those are different "tools", each with its own purpose.
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[0] I don't run for long periods of time and am not looking to run a marathon. My goal is usually to run around 30 minutes, just enough to give my cardiovascular system a bit of a workout. So all in all, it takes me around 1h, counting the cool-down period (when the thinking random thoughts process comes back), washing my clothes and showering.
That's exactly what I started doing last year when covid hit. Before then, I used to do decent running / stepper cardio in the gym. When covid hit, I cancelled my bus pass membership and have been walking everywhere since then. I do all my groceries, buying pet food etc walking. It takes about 40 minutes and I get to listen to podcasts during then. I have even started to "plan" my groceries - so I only buy around 2-3 days worth of meat and that ends up forcing me to leave the house at least every couple days. I sometimes plan things like buying larger items like toilet paper on separate days so I can walk with all my items without having to do uber or something else.
Pandemic has not been kind to the bathroom scale. I lost my regular exercise but my diet got worse from stress eating.
That's why I like running.
Running would just make what I'm listening to background noise, but that's not the correct level of engagement I want. I want 'exercise' to be the side effect and not the main activity I'm engaging in. Running is the other way around.
For the longest time i ran really fast to the point of exhaustion, ,sometimes with small pauses interval style.
Then i tried running slower, which was actually hard for me for some reason, but could go much longer, and with less tax on my sympathetic nervous system and joints.
I've also seen people do the "powerwalking" thing so that's also an option.
If you can’t do this you’re probably running too fast for your fitness level. I was for a long time.
But this feels more like a "trance" to me, in that I seem to not actively think about anything at all, I just "observe".
What I meant is for me running is the background and it's mostly automatic. I can listen or think about things and they are my primary focus.
I'd say it takes a few months to get to this level but for most people it's doable.
"Artificially simulate that stress environment?" Is that a joke? Exercise is [physical] stress. What about that seems "wrong" to you?
However, simulating a hunt should be good for the health since it informs the body that it is in a prey rich environment. The same goes for other stressful but evolutionary fitness promoting activities such as sex.