This Monday, I ran 1 mile. At the end of that mile, I had official run at least 1 mile every day for the last 365 days (If you're wondering why one might choose to do such a thing, I've written more about it in a more verbose blog here). The challenge of lacing up and getting out for a run every single day taught me a few things about myself and about the process of making activity a part of your life. These are a few of the thoughts I popped into my head as I ran that mile.
1. Getting out really is the hardest part.
Most days, the worst part of my run was the lead up to it. This was the part where I milled around the house, thinking about getting out but also thinking about how it was too hot, too wet, too cold, too anything that could convince me not to go outside. It's ridiculous how many days consisted of hours of putting off a mere 10 minutes of running. Forcing myself to bundle up and get in those 10 minutes or risk sacrificing my streak taught me how easy it can be to be active once you break through all the reasons not to exercise.
2. Listen to your body (...it's okay to feel really slow).
The key to a streak is forgiveness. If I ran all out every day of the year, injuries would have stopped me in my tracks a long time ago. Early on, I needed to make an active decision to make some days "rest" miles, so that my overall fitness would not suffer from it. I needed to be okay with the fact that these miles were not going to be impressive and that I couldn't always imagine that I was a graceful gazelle prancing through the streets, some days I was going to feel more like a tortoise barely moving. The daily mile really gave me a chance to assess where I needed to give more attention to after other workouts, be it an achy quad or sore calves.
3. Sometimes it feels good to set a goal no one else will care about
We live in a world where it feels like there's always something that other people expect we should be doing. I liked having something that I wanted to achieve that was separate from other people. Sure, I have great friends that would check in on me and cheer me on, but in the end, if I didn't run my mile it wasn't going to ruin their day. It was good knowing that the only reason I wanted to get out was so that I didn't disappoint myself. It's nice to know that day after day I could force myself to take those 10 minutes to be active just for me.
I'm still working on my daily mile, because it would take a whole year to get back to where I am. There will probably be a day when I can't make it out for some reason, and then I can set a new goal just to keep myself moving. I didn't write about this to convince anyone that it's a good idea to go on a mile streak, as the benefits are not so much from the physical act of running everyday as from the mental effects of knowing you can. Set a goal and get creative, anything that will encourage you to make time for activity in your life!
1. Getting out really is the hardest part.
Most days, the worst part of my run was the lead up to it. This was the part where I milled around the house, thinking about getting out but also thinking about how it was too hot, too wet, too cold, too anything that could convince me not to go outside. It's ridiculous how many days consisted of hours of putting off a mere 10 minutes of running. Forcing myself to bundle up and get in those 10 minutes or risk sacrificing my streak taught me how easy it can be to be active once you break through all the reasons not to exercise.
2. Listen to your body (...it's okay to feel really slow).
The key to a streak is forgiveness. If I ran all out every day of the year, injuries would have stopped me in my tracks a long time ago. Early on, I needed to make an active decision to make some days "rest" miles, so that my overall fitness would not suffer from it. I needed to be okay with the fact that these miles were not going to be impressive and that I couldn't always imagine that I was a graceful gazelle prancing through the streets, some days I was going to feel more like a tortoise barely moving. The daily mile really gave me a chance to assess where I needed to give more attention to after other workouts, be it an achy quad or sore calves.
3. Sometimes it feels good to set a goal no one else will care about
We live in a world where it feels like there's always something that other people expect we should be doing. I liked having something that I wanted to achieve that was separate from other people. Sure, I have great friends that would check in on me and cheer me on, but in the end, if I didn't run my mile it wasn't going to ruin their day. It was good knowing that the only reason I wanted to get out was so that I didn't disappoint myself. It's nice to know that day after day I could force myself to take those 10 minutes to be active just for me.
I'm still working on my daily mile, because it would take a whole year to get back to where I am. There will probably be a day when I can't make it out for some reason, and then I can set a new goal just to keep myself moving. I didn't write about this to convince anyone that it's a good idea to go on a mile streak, as the benefits are not so much from the physical act of running everyday as from the mental effects of knowing you can. Set a goal and get creative, anything that will encourage you to make time for activity in your life!
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