Last October I ran one mile every day for the whole month. I originally got the idea when I saw @MegSquats post about how she was going to incorporate running more into her training. Meg is one of my favorite Youtubers/IG “influencers”, so I was all for it. At this time, I was also paying attention to David Goggins a bit more and came to terms that I’m not as mentally tough as I’d like to be AKA I was living in the comfort zone (which may be worse than the friendzone??? IDK) and 2019 was all about growth and we all know there is no growth in the comfort zone.
So, I ran every day; accomplished my goal – posted it on the ‘gram for everyone to see and felt pretty good about myself but I also hated it at the same time. Running has always made me nervous. I used to run a lot because of sports but I would ALWAYS get anxious before a beep test or some sort of cardiovascular training. I could play an entire basketball game or ultimate frisbee game no problem, but once I had to be tested – game over. I think part of it was because I knew deep down that I didn’t have the mental capacity to truly compete. I’m not competitive in nature; I’m that teammate that just hopes everyone is having a good time. But running is a different kind of competition because you are truly only competing with yourself and if you let yourself down, you don’t make other people mad. You do something else; you take two steps back from reaching your true potential. And that is terrifying.
Once I came to terms with that. Got sick of letting myself down in certain areas; it was easy to commit to a month of running; but I never liked it. I never enjoyed waking up at 5:00am (sometimes 4:30), to run up my street and back down. It was dark, freezing most days and I had a constant fear of getting tackled by deer (no joke). But that was the time I set aside for 7 minutes and 48 seconds of running. People didn’t get it. Why so early? Because what else am I doing before work for eight-minutes? Exactly. Plan, find the time, make the time. Just do it.
I still hate running, maybe a little less. But I am determined to do it more. Heck, I even signed up for a 10k! For me, fitness is a process and running is probably one of the most primal movements we all should be able to do for a decent amount of time/distance. So, this is just me evolving and widening my fitness experiences.
It’s important to put yourself through things that challenge you – to an extent. You learn a lot about yourself, your body and mind. I know I came out October mentally tougher and maybe in a wee better shape.
Joy
