Running never gets easier
Last year I was blessed to finish my first 100 mile race.
Last week, I nearly pooped my pants running a 10k.
Running never gets easier.
Once I can easily run 1 mile, it is time to push myself to run 2 miles. If I can run at a 10 minute pace easily, going at a 9 minute pace will be harder. There really is no arrival when it comes to running. After every race, there is the pursuit of another race. And any lengthy time off of running means your pace time will slow down, so it is a constant chase of improvement. It is a pendulum swing of getting better and faster and then slacking off and slower.
Running never gets easier, you just get better at handling the difficult things. Runs you once considered long become your warmup. The voice telling you to quit gets a lot more manageable. And on the days you don’t want to run, the habit of showing up allows you to lace up your shoes.
Running consistently changes you from a person who hates running to someone who runs. It may seem like a small difference, but it is huge. And the difference is not that running became easy. Rather, you are becoming someone who is able to conquer their feelings.
Running is a wonderful mirror to life. It is a humbling, frustrating, and exhilerating journey with progress and setbacks, plateaus and breakthroughs. In both running and life, you have to place one foot in front of the other, regardless of how you feel, and trust the legs God has placed under you will carry you another step.
Find your aim and press on towards the goal. Running never gets easier. But the person the difficulty is shaping you into is worth the struggle. Quiet your mind, put on your shoes, and run your race.
Would you become a monthly financial supporter?
Thank you so much for your continued support in reading this newsletter. I feel the love!
I love writing and I want to write more. Currently, to run this blog it is actually costing me a considerable amount of money. If this newsletter has been helpful for you and you’d like to see it continue, I ask if you’d consider becoming a monthly contributor to supporting the cost of running this blog.
Any help you give will only increase my ability to produce better content and hopefully build a better community on this platform. Click the link below to check out the sponsor page.
If you liked this post, or you feel like it would start a good conversation, please share this with your friends and ask them to subscribe.
It would help me a lot. Thanks for reading!
What did you think of today’s article?
New videos coming out weekly: https://youtube.com/@thejacobhayward?si=JHgwOjGP_-FwY3l0
Follow me on X for newest updates: https://x.com/thejacobhayward?s=21