đ how running changed my life
i never did sports in high school. not a single one. no track, no basketball, no nothing. i was the kid who did the bare minimum in PE and then went home to play video games. the idea of voluntarily running for fun wouldâve made me laugh.
the gym phase
in college, i got into lifting. like really into it. i was in the gym 5+ days a week for about 4 years straight. it was great â i got stronger, more confident, and developed some discipline around showing up consistently. but it was always indoors, always the same movements, always kind of isolated.
i tried branching out at one point and started doing jiu-jitsu. that lasted until someone dislocated my shoulder. i tapped out of that hobby pretty quickly (pun intended) and went back to lifting.
how it started
i donât remember exactly what made me start running, but i think i was just bored of the gym routine. i set a really simple goal: just run every day. didnât matter how far or how fast. just get outside and move.
i started documenting my runs on instagram, which honestly helped a lot with accountability. when you tell people youâre doing something every day, you feel stupid skipping a day. itâs like a public commitment device.
the half marathon
within a couple months, i signed up for a half marathon. i figured if i was going to run anyway, might as well have something to work toward. the training was humbling â going from âi can run a couple milesâ to âi need to run 13.1 milesâ is a big jump. but i just kept showing up and adding distance slowly.
the half marathon itself was awesome. crossing that finish line felt like proof that i could do hard things outside of a gym.
the full marathon
about 5 months after i started running, i ran a full marathon. looking back, that timeline was probably too aggressive, and my body let me know. i developed a foot injury during training that i probably shouldâve rested more for, but i was stubborn and kept going.
the marathon itself was a rollercoaster. the first 10 miles felt great â almost easy. miles 10-18 were fine, just grinding. then the wall hit around mile 20 and everything changed. my legs felt like concrete. every step was a negotiation with my own body. miles 22-24 were genuinely some of the hardest things iâve ever done.
but then something weird happened around mile 25. i could see the finish and this wave of emotion just hit me. i wasnât in pain anymore â or maybe i was but i didnât care. i crossed the finish line and honestly almost cried.
why running is different
running is meditation for me. when iâm lifting, iâm thinking about form, reps, weight. when iâm running, especially on longer runs, my mind just⌠wanders. i process things. i come up with ideas. sometimes i donât think about anything at all. itâs the closest thing to mindfulness iâve found that doesnât involve sitting still.
thereâs also something about the discipline of it that changed me. at first, you have to force yourself to run. it takes willpower. but after a while, it just becomes habit. you donât think about whether youâre going to run â you just put your shoes on and go. that shift from discipline to habit is where the real change happens, and it bleeds into everything else in your life.
whatâs next
iâve got my sights set on the tokyo marathon. after spending time in japan and falling in love with the city, running through it sounds like the perfect way to experience it. plus, japanese marathons are known for having incredible crowd support.
if youâre reading this and youâve never been a runner â same. i wasnât either. just start with something small and see what happens. you might surprise yourself.