What I Learned From 30 Days of Running
Prelude
In his 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement Address, Conan O’Brien, on an uncharacteristically serious note, stated “There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.”
Conan’s video was just one of the many videos I had watched during the past few months in quarantine, but something about those words had stuck with me.
Like Conan at the time, I too was in a period of limbo. I had fallen behind in my thesis writing, feeling like I had wasted months watching movies and playing games instead of working hard on my thesis. I had no clue about the next step in my life — I did not plan to continue my pursuit of academia, but I had no concrete prospects in terms of employment as well. In all aspects, I was at a low point in my life, with no idea where I was going, and having my fears of falling behind my friends realized.
But having my fears realized turned out to be a turning point.
On my worst days of insecurity, I would spend hours in bed, diving deep into the Youtube black hole. One day I stumbled upon a documentary for the Norseman triathlon, one of the world’s most grueling triathlons. Seeing people swim 3.8 kilometers, then bike 180 kilometers, then run 42 kilometers, and still smile at the end was inspiring, to say the least. But what was most inspiring was that everyone at the end was smiling, was holding a medal, was cheered on by the crowds — not just the fastest one.
I was hooked on finding out more about triathlons and marathons. I spent countless hours watching everything I could about marathons, triathlons, and running in general. I devoured videos about proper form, how to start running, and what programs to follow.
I wanted to run. I wanted to be able to run a 5 kilometer, something I had never done before throughout my 21 years alive. But I wanted it to be something of an achievement, something that I could be proud of, something I would remember for a long time.
And so, I decided to run for 30 days straight.
The Setup
Before trying to run for 30 days, I was of a good level of fitness, if I do say so myself. My first two months in quarantine were filled with a lot of different workouts, in an attempt to lose weight before the quarantine was over. But running hadn’t really been a part of the menu, so I was traversing into uncharted territory.
I decided to make the 30 days coincide with the month of June, as it would be easier to track how many days had passed and how many days were left just by remembering what day of the month it was.
The standard was simple — 1 kilometer was the minimum I had to run every single day. Going over was fine, but under no circumstances was I allowed to go under. All my runs needed to be tracked on Strava (an app for running, cycling, and swimming).
The most important rule was that no matter what I needed to run — no excuses. By the end of the month, I targeted myself to run a 5K without stopping or walking and see how much I had grown as a runner within that time.
The Run
The first 10 days were all about adapting. I had only done 6 runs in May prior to starting the challenge, with no run longer than 4 kilometers. I initially followed a Couch-to-5k program, which had me switching between running and walking for around 30 minutes every single day. And so, for the first few days, I spent a lot of time just trying to get used to running, which was considerably hard since I had had minimal prior running experience.
But by day 10, I had started consistently running over 4 kilometers every day. Some days were admittedly less than that, as some days I focused on speed or time over distance. But I felt stronger and was able to run for longer periods of time. However, I was still walking every now and then, just to catch my breath or to let my calves rest for a few minutes.
After day 20, the improvements really started to show.
On day 21, I ran my first 5k without stopping. 32 minutes of consistent running was unimaginable when I first started — the first time I ran in May, I could only run for 3 minutes before stopping. Although I had missed out on my target time by 45 seconds, I was still proud of myself for achieving a running milestone.
Considering that I was able to run 5 kilometers without stopping, I decided to up the stakes for my 30-day goal — instead of running a 5K, I wanted to run a 7K without stopping. That target would be attainable, yet still be challenging enough.
But on day 25, I ran 7 kilometers without stopping for the first time in my life.
I could barely believe it. When I started, I had only hoped for 20 minutes of continuous running at best — 30 minutes was a pipe dream. 7 kilometers was not only attainable, but I felt like I could run a few more kilometers afterwards.
And so, the new goal became a 10K at the end of the month.
I wish I could tell you that I succeeded. That I run the 10K like a breeze, barely breaking a sweat.
Unfortunately, that would be a lie.
And so, the month of running came to an end, ending with what could be called a ‘failure’.
What I Learned
When you start running, you think you have to run with earphones in, music blasting, because that’s the way people run on TV (thank corporate advertisements for this). But there is a peace to running without beats playing. There’s a lot of time to think, and to ruminate on whatever’s been bothering you, as well as to learn lessons about yourself.
The first lesson I learned was: We all run different races.
On my runs, there would always be people I passed, as well as people who passed me. There would be people who ran fast for 1 minute and walked for 5, people who ran slowly and didn’t stop for 1 hour, as well as people who ran inhumanly fast and would run laps around everyone else running.
Although there would be times I would be intensely insecure and try to run as fast as possible to make sure no one passed me, I slowly realized that it didn’t matter if some people passed me or not. We weren’t even running the same race.
Maybe they had started earlier that day. Maybe they would end after 1 lap, so they could afford to run all out. Maybe they had already trained their running since they were toddlers. I don’t know their journey. And they don’t know mine.
Whatever goal you have, you might see other people surpassing you. You may feel like you’re constantly falling behind. Don’t.
What’s the use of comparing our races if we don’t have the same finish line?
Second lesson: Focus on the process, not the results.
At the beginning of the month, I thought the most important day would be the final day, the day where I went for the longest run. But the 30th day is just one day.
What about the other 29 days? The days where I didn’t run 10 kilometers? Were those days pointless if I failed the last day?
The answer is obviously no. On the last day of June, I ran 10 kilometers in 1 hour and 15 minutes — which was 15 minutes more than I had initially targeted. And I thought myself as a failure, because I had taken walk breaks during the run, and because I didn’t run all the way, and because I took way longer than the internet said I should. The results told me I was a failure.
But the process told me I had succeeded. That I had initially only planned to run a 5K by the 30th day, but instead was able to double that distance because I worked hard at running every single day. I was able to consistently run every single day, even on days where I spent 7 hours driving to another city. The other 29 days, though not perfect, were largely a success. And in all honesty, the fact that I could even run 10K was already an achievement to begin with, considering where I had started.
Don’t let the results, which may not be what you had hoped for, overcloud the process and the growth that you’ve went through. Don’t let one day overcloud the other 29 days. As long as you were better than you were yesterday, that is enough.
The last lesson I learned was: Don’t be afraid to start.
So many of us are afraid to start something because the internet has led us to believe that it’s not worth doing something unless you’re spectacularly good at it.
I don’t believe in that. I watch movies and write reviews though there are a ton of my friends who write better reviews and have watched hundreds of movies more than me. I play Valorant and Counter-Strike every night despite constantly being at the bottom of the scoreboard.
What could I lose by being bad at running? The Olympics team won’t accept me? I won’t beat Usain Bolt?
People seem to forget that every master started a beginner (unless you’re Elton John who was born with it).
Starting to run was probably the best idea I’ve had during all of quarantine, and it’s a habit I intend to keep. But if I had worried at all about not being good at running, or people giving me crap for being bad at running, I may not have started.
So to conclude this unapologetically long post, this is not a call for everyone to run. Far from it.
This is a call for you to go for that crazy dream you’ve always wanted to pursue. Start cooking, start singing, start coding.
If you like it, great! Keep doing it.
If you don’t, great! Now you have a new skill.
Go out and try new stuff.
Run your own race.
If you fail, don’t fret. Fail again. Fail better.
I sincerely hope you find something you love.
