Ten years of running!

Back in December 2024, I completed ten years since I first started to run. So, I thought this may be a good time to reflect upon my running experience.

1. How did it all start

Back in 2014, when I met an old friend after a gap of a year, he pointed out how I was looking chubbier than earlier. On weighing myself, I realized I was weighing 77 kilograms. This was about 8 kg heavier than about a year ago. This prompted me to pick up some form of exercise to pause the upward trend at the outset.

I always disliked visiting the gym or exercising indoors. That’s because I’m already tired of spending long hours indoors in front of a computer screen. So, I was certain that I wanted to exercise outdoors. But, with no other thought about how I wanted to go about it, one late evening I visited a park near my home and simply started to run. And, for that first week - I simply ran every evening as fast as I could. These runs were short, as I would easily run out of breath when trying to run fast.

After that first week, I switched to running in the morning. This worked better for me since I had already been going to the park every morning to read a book. All I did at this point was to promise myself to not get down to my morning reading routine before I ran some distance.

For the next couple of weeks, I simply ran as much as I felt like running without worrying about the pace, distance, etc. The only hard rule I followed at this point was to not get to my reading routine without some running. And, once I felt certain about running at least for the next month or so, I got my first pair of running shoes. Until then, I was running wearing any of my available shoes, and they were very uncomfortable to run in.

At this point, I wasn’t really enjoying running. Running out of breath was exhausting me, and my feet felt worn out for the rest of the day. But I wanted to persevere until I shed a few kilos.

2. The first couple of years

After the first difficult month:

• I started to run slower to stop experiencing shortness of breath. Not worrying about my running pace helped me gradually increase my running distance up to 5 kilometers.
• I also reduced my frequency to running 3–4 times a week. The rest days gave my legs the needed time to recover. This also meant my morning routine wasn’t busy every day of the week.

With these two changes, I learned to manage the two major dislikes I experienced during the first month. And, about three months into running, I started to observe a reduction in my weight. More importantly, I started to feel lighter on my feet and more active during the day. This motivated me to continue to run to weigh healthier and feel fitter.

About three months into running, as running started to become a routine, my mind started to create innumerable excuses in the morning to escape out of my running routine. To overcome these, I gradually formulated a few rules and habits during the first couple of years of running:

• I would try to get out of my house as early as possible after waking up (before my mind could convince me to skip the run). Things would feel a lot easier once I had stepped out of my house.
• Under no circumstances would I stop the run before having run the predetermined distance.
• I would not get down to my morning reading routine without completing my morning run.

What also helped me during the first couple of years to run regularly was:

• Naturally being an early morning guy allowed me to have time for running with lesser potential distractions (all the kids, work, family stuff).
• Prior to starting to run, I was already visiting the park in the morning to read. Adding running to my morning routine was a smaller change to my existing schedule.

By the end of the first year of running, I had reached my weight goal (weighing 70 kilograms). I was now mostly running to continue to feel fitter and lighter. I hadn’t felt this light for a long time before running. Furthermore, I had also started to enjoy and appreciate the runner’s high one tends to experience post-run.

During the second year of my running, my routine somehow started to feel easier. I stopped feeling as tired from running as I used to feel earlier. And my body seemed to have gotten attuned to the running workload. By now, I had also gotten better at controlling my breath, pace, etc. I was still running about 5-10 kilometers for every run about thrice a week and feeling good about it all.

3. How did I continue to run for 10 long years

Since the first couple of years of running, I have been running 5-10 kilometers for every run, about 2-3 times a week. My running routine hasn’t changed, and it has been more a habit challenge than a physical challenge.

3.1. The most difficult thing about my running routine

Being able to run without letting my mind get in my way has been the most difficult aspect of my running. Like when I started to run, my mind continues to hunt for excuses to not run. Some common excuses I battle before every run:

• “It’s a tough day at work today (lots of meetings, something critical to deal with, etc.). I should avoid putting additional burden on myself."
• “It seems I’m having a bit of a headache / sore feet / stiff back. Running may worsen things for later in the day."
• “I didn’t sleep well last night. Let’s give body some rest to avoid feeling tired later in the day."
• “It’s very cold / hot / humid today. Tomorrow will be a better day for a run."
• “I’m 10 minutes late today. Going for a run now will delay the rest of the things downstream."

Battling these excuses every day for years through the following has been the single biggest challenge:

• The ups and downs of work, health and family
• While parenting two kids
• While moving from a job to self-employment

Consistently overcoming these mental loopholes has allowed me to have a running routine for this long.

3.2. What helped me have a consistent routine

In hindsight, some factors that enabled me to build a consistent routine are:

• Back when I started to run, I simply added running to an existing schedule. Building a habit loop in the longer term is easier for me when the changes are as small as possible.
• Over the years, I have learned to distinguish my mind’s manipulations from real reasons inhibiting my morning routine. As a result, I’m at peace with myself when I’m unable to run for a week or two due to genuine work, family or health reasons.
• Despite running for years, it hasn’t gotten boring. There’s always some aspect of running I discover now and then. Say, how the wind conditions affect my breathing during a run, how my leg muscles feel with a certain warm-up exercise, how various pacing routines affect my run, etc.
• Over the years, I have gotten addicted to the sense of lightness and health control I feel throughout the day after running in the morning.
• With my body tuned to the running workload, the fatigue I feel during or after the run is now minimal in comparison to the euphoria I feel post-run.

4. How running affects my health

By now, I’m certain that my dietary intake has a bigger role to play in my health and fitness than running or any kind of exercise. But my running routine has gradually influenced my dietary choices over the years. And, as a result, it has had an indirect impact on my health that may not be apparent at first.

Every time I exercise or run in the morning, I feel that I belong to a group of people who are healthier, fitter and more aware of their wellbeing. This feeling makes enforcing healthy food choices during the day a lot easier. And doing this over the years means:

• I eat fried snacks a lot less (earlier 3-4 times a week to now 1-2 times a month).
• I eat sweet food items less frequently and prefer homemade sweets.
• I read labels of packaged foods more often.
• I eat natural and seasonal fruits almost daily.

I don’t geek a lot on the calories consumed or the nutritional composition of everything I eat. But I have gradually introduced small and easy-to-execute changes into my dietary choices. For me, smaller changes with lower friction have been easier to execute than big bang changes.

So, the direct effect of running or exercising on my health may be limited. But, my morning routine sets me on a path where I’m more aware and in control of my diet choices. And, as a result - it pushes me naturally to make healthier choices. And, in that way, it leads me to be healthier.

5. How do I actually run

My runs are more about the experience and living through those moments rather than about speed, distance or other measurable aspects. I have not yet run a marathon or any competitive run. The longest distance I may have run is 10-11 kilometers. I do not actively track the distance I run or the time taken to run. I roughly know my running distances since I know the length of the various running routes I commonly run on. But I do not wear any tracking device or track my runs through an app. Also, I do not carry my phone during my runs.

I know I’m not one of the fastest or the most elegant runners. Many others with whom I share the running track appear a lot more natural at it. But, over the years, my goal has been to be able to enjoy my runs rather than get faster or run longer. I avoid tracking any aspects of my runs with a fear that measuring things may spoil the experiential fun.

I mostly run alone. I sometimes do run alongside others I share the running track with, and I know from many years of running. But I’m not part of a running team or a group. This has allowed me to stay flexible with respect to the running track I pick, the days I run on, the pace I want to run at, etc.

My running routine is preceded by a warm-up routine that has gradually evolved over the years to prevent running injuries. And I commonly conclude my runs with a 10-minute walk to gradually cool down my muscles. The walk is followed up by simply sitting in the park to cherish the post-run euphoria. During these few minutes, I simply watch the green surroundings of the park and feel the gratitude of good health.

Because of the accumulated memories of post-run euphoria, there’s a sense of positivity attached to these parks where I run. They are one of the happiest places for me to be. And I find myself visiting these parks at other times every once in a while to tap into this sense of positivity.

6. Other exercises

About four years ago, I realized that while running was a great cardio exercise, it wasn’t sufficient to cater to my overall physical fitness. As a result, I reduced the distance I ran and added a small exercise routine for one day every week. As my exercise routine evolved and grew more strenuous, I stopped running entirely on this one day every week.

Since then, I spend one day every week exercising my upper body, arms and core with pull-ups, push-ups, planks, crunches, etc. Like with the running routine, this regimen has gradually evolved as I have learned more about my body and fitness. I mostly use the public park equipment, my own body weight, and resistance bands for this exercise routine.

7. If I could go in the past and change a few things

Back when I started, there were a few things I got wrong. If I were to start now, I’d do these differently:

7.1. Avoid trying to run as fast as possible

When I started, trying to run as fast as possible wore me down and made me dislike running. Since I wasn’t preparing for any kind of competitive running, chasing speed was meaningless. If I were to start running today, I’d rather start as slowly as possible to focus my energy on habit building, rather than imagining myself as one of those 100-meter sprinters.

7.2. Go for annual medical checkups

With the kind of physical stress running, or any exercise routine puts on the body, a medical checkup is vital to ensure the physical strain on the body will not complicate undiscovered health issues. When I started to run as fast as possible without any health checks, I unknowingly put myself at a risk of potentially triggering such an unknown health issue.

Since the last three years, I annually get tested for Stress-ECG (Electrocardiograph), cholesterol, sugar levels and blood pressure to minimize this risk.

7.3. Build habits, not quick health goals

I started my running routine with the goal of reducing a certain weight within 3-6 months. My initial goal was influenced by all the marketing fluff from the gyms and health coaches (“reduce X kilos in Y weeks”). But if I had stopped building on my running routine after reaching my weight goals, I may be worse off right now.

I now realize that good health is not a project on a stringent deadline but a lifelong commitment. Thus, building upon small healthy habits gives me a higher chance of success than aiming to reach a certain target in the shortest possible time. So, if I were to start running today, I’d simply focus on long-term habit building and ignore the rest.

8. Plans ahead

With my running routine mostly settled, I plan to continue to run without any changes or new goals. I just want to be able to continue enjoying my runs.

My exercise routine continues to evolve. I hope to hire a solid personal trader whose perspective aligns with my plans. The goal is to fill the missing gaps in my routine, since my routine is built from just listening to my body and learning about fitness from the internet.

Over the years, I have used the small habit change loop I learned from my running to drive many changes with respect to work, health and relationships. I have experienced the compounding power of such small changes over the years. I hope to continue to make similar changes in the years to come.