36. What I think about when I think on my runs
Murakami inspo, forget about setting goals and just do it as Nike says.
I started going out on long distance runs last week and it’s made me think about a few things. First of all, why did I never stop to think that sprinting for 6 km is very difficult. You can imagine how long that first “run” (sprint) lasted, can’t you? If not, the answer is seven minutes.
After that first, rather catastrophic, run I decided to give it another try the following day, but this time I decided that I was going to run very slowly to see how that felt. To my surprise, it was extremely easy and almost spiritual. I was listening to the @lexie podcast and running through mountain trails, surrounded by green fields and mountains, the sun was setting, the birds were singing, the cool beginning of summer air was blowing… it was absolute bliss. I felt like a better person after finishing that run because every step I took made me feel grateful for the special moment I was living.
The next day, after that great experience, I decided to go for a third run along my now favourite trail and it was even better than the day before. I kept a better pace and made it to 6,4 km - mind blowing if you ask me, but that just shows you what you’re capable when you really set your mind to something and do it for enjoyment.
I have no idea yet about paces or km, or any of the “technical” stuff. I just put my favourite Nike trainers on with my favourite baggy t-shirts, my black biker shorts, and off I go. The only reason I know my pace was faster and that I ran further on the second proper run was thanks to the Nike Run Club app - This is what’s going to take me into our topic for this week:
Why is it that when we take up a new hobby or want to learn something new, we decide very quickly that it’s pointless because we’ll never be “the best” or achieve anything from it? Let me explain…
As I’ve just mentioned, I’ve started to go on runs every evening and already, my brain has started to feed me thoughts like “Why take this so seriously? You’ll never run a marathon”, “What’s the point in training to run long distances now?”, “You’ve never ran before, what’s with the hype all of a sudden?” …
Another situation in which my brain fed me similar thoughts: I used to have guitar lessons about 10 months ago. I learned loads and could actually play a few songs rather well, but my brain kept thinking that I was wasting my time because I’d never be in a band or write my own songs, you know, as “successful” musicians do.
Why do our brains do this to us? We don’t need to win a medal at the Olympics, become a pop star overnight, come first place in a marathon or become a professional at it. Some things are just about enjoying the moment and becoming a better version of yourself. One of the Nike app coaches said on one of my guided runs this week that you will go to sleep being a better version of yourself for completing the run and I believe this too.
Every time you sit down to practice playing the guitar, every time you push yourself to go out on a run or go to the gym. Every time to go to the beach to practice surfing, every time you open a book to revise something you’re learning… you’re pushing yourself and you’re getting closer to achieving your goals, whatever they may be. I don’t have any “real” goals regarding running, I just want to be able to keep it up and enjoy every single run I go on. I want to have the opportunity to prioritise myself once a day and to focus on my breathing and the views I see as I run. I don’t want to be the fastest or the best runner, I just want to not give up and do it for myself.
Another thing I’ve thought about this week is that we con-stant-ly look for external validation before we tell ourselves “well done”. This is a terrible habit to have, and I’d dare to say that we all cave sometimes. We feel better if someone else complements us on how well that chord sounded or on what a great pace we kept throughout our run, instead of telling ourselves something as simple as “well done, you did it!” The reality is that we don’t need other people’s approval, we need our own.
After crossing my imaginary “finish line” at the end of the run, as I walk home I take the time to tell myself nice things. I congratulate myself for completing the run, for pushing through and not stopping, for not obsessing over time and pace and listening to my body. I feel gratitude for having a body that’s able to run, for being healthy and being able to control my breathing and heart rate… then I feel happy and proud for, once again, just doing it. It’s really that simple, just do things.
We don’t need to do things to receive anything in return, we don’t need a prize, a medal, other people’s praise to achieve anything. We must do these things because we want to and because we enjoy them, it really is that simple.
I probably won’t ever write my own song to play on the guitar, I probably won’t complete a marathon, I probably won’t become a pro skateboarder and learn dangerous tricks, I probably won’t become the writer of the most famous newsletter. But, I will have fun playing perfect by Ed Sheeran seven hundred times a week, I’ll be healthier for running 5 days a week, I’ll get better at writing and I’ll hopefully help at least one reader with my newsletter. These are all massive achievements as they are. We need to learn to stop brushing things off as if they weren’t good enough and give ourselves a big pat on the back for just doing which is already such a big step, many people dream and wish and never actually get around to the “doing” part, so if you did, congratulations - you did it!
You don’t need to have end goals and achieve them to be successful. You don’t need to constantly work towards a big goal to feel like you’ve accomplished something. By taking baby steps every day to get a little bit better at your hobby and to give yourself the time and space to have fun every day is way more important than “achieving your goal”. Since we’re young we’re taught to work towards “goals” and once you’ve accomplished it, you can celebrate. But why do you have to wait until you’ve crossed the finish line? Why can’t you celebrate from the moment you take the first step at the beginning of the race?
Why do you even need a goal? Why can’t you just go on a run every day without expectations, without a set km in mind and run until you feel like our body is satisfied? Why do you need to set a goal of reaching 10k on every run at a 7’ pace?
In reality, when you reach this goal you won’t be satisfied anyway, you’ll set yourself another one to keep yourself going. You’ll run half a marathon and then want to run a whole one. You’ll run one marathon and then want to take part in a triathlon… Just because you reach your “goal” doesn’t mean you’ll then be done, pleased with your performance and stop running, does it? So why do we obsess over reaching all of these goals. Life occurs in the present and as long as you go to sleep at night pleased with what you’ve done, you’re a better version of yourself than you were yesterday and this is already a massive achievement as it is.
So all in all, do things as you want to do them, and enjoy from the second you start.
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK BELOW ⬇️
Pomelo is an open letter from me to you and it’s the most fun when I get to read your replies so please, if you have something so say, open a discussion in the comments section.
Or, consider answering some of the following questions:
Do you enjoy going on runs? Why or why not?
What’s your favourite way to relax?
Do you find the time to do something for yourself?
3. Lately I've been finding a lot of time to do stuff for myself, but someone says that I'm busy all day. I don't trust them, I've even made a hammer.