Consistency, Starting sucks,

1. Starting sucks

There is this unofficial rule for all runners that you need to ignore the first mile. Why? Because it’s the worst! It usually takes that first mile to get in the mojo of your run. Maybe you need to wake up a bit. Your body needs to loosen up. Your stride gets steady. Your breathing begins to regulate. Starting out you don’t really feel yourself. That initial resistance is the make or break for many runners; once you’re out the house and past that initial hard point though, it’s onwards and upwards (usually).

Obviously, there are outliers. I’ve had runs where I’ve been cruising right from the get-go and then out of nowhere, I’m in agony. However, that is most often not the case. The same can be said with a lot of things in life.

I find starting out with something I often lack the experience and when faced with my first trial, there are voices of doubt appearing. Motivation drains by the second, procrastination occurs, and the end seems unreachable. Yet it’s beyond this initial hurdle that growth lies and very often things get easier or (dare I say it) fun!

We have this imagery notion that we are going to start every day with an unlimited supply of motivation, but that is simply not the case. Obviously, we can train ourselves to be more disciplined but ultimately, we just have to get on with it.

2. Consistency wins

For years, I used to run once a week. An event called Parkrun every Saturday consisted of a 5km run and a lot of very tired runners.

My mindset was I would run harder each Saturday and improvement would occur. But that wasn’t how it worked. I had a bit of natural athleticism, but ultimately for me to improve, I would have to run outside of these weekly runs. To start, I did an occasional second run every other week, yet nothing happened to my times. It was only when I consistently increased my weekly runs that I improved.

Fast forward to the present and after a lot of experimentation and slow progression, I can happily say I consistently run five times a week (sometimes more, sometimes less). It is here where I have found amazing progress. These runs mid-week don’t necessarily have to be hard but like any habit, you have to keep it up. It is in the space of long consistent repetition that action becomes second nature. Now, I don’t struggle to do these simple runs, and the cap on what I deem as ‘hard’ seems to be expanding.

3. Not every day is a good day

I think everyone can relate to the fact that whenever doing something competitive, you can expect there to be off days. A recent half marathon I did consisted of me dropping gels, getting a nosebleed, getting a horrible stitch, and hobbling around the course for close to two hours.

No runner is always going to have a good day all the time. No amount of planning prevents hardship; we cannot predict the future. The same can be said with everyone that has ever existed! However, with the increased use of social media, we are bombarded by an influx of external information this is often just honestly not true. It’s easier to lie and say you're having a good day than face the truth and come to terms with the root of an issue.

For me, I view all situations as part of the journey. They contribute to me learning, growing, and ultimately becoming the person I am meant to be. A bad day inevitability will happen and I don’t pretend it won’t. Then when it does occur, I embrace it, tackle it, and learn from it.

I believe that the one quality that we humans, at least most of us haven't been able to develop or inculcate so far in our nature is acceptance. You will hardly find anyone accepting things the way they are, accepting the things that can't be changed, being okay with the incidents or accidents of the past, accepting the shortcomings and imperfections of the present, and the uncertainty of the future.

This is the only way by which we can transition ourselves from hatred, anger, guilt, disappointment, anxiety, stress, depression to love, pleasure, freedom, peace, joy, and happiness. All of these traits are present everywhere around us and within us, but the thing that will differentiate you from others is whether you accept the shortcomings and move on and fill your life with positiveness and happiness or you just choose to reject it and fill your life with misery and guilt.