Mile 1

I was roughly a half mile in when I started to think, “This is the reason I never run.” 

Distance running has never been my forte. I always felt it was meant for “those other people” who enjoy torturing themselves for no apparent reason.  Nevertheless, armed with Atomic Habits as my guidebook and a new pair of shoes, I convinced myself I needed to fully embrace my newfound identity. I was ready. 

Every day for a solid month I’d tie my shoes and walk out the door, gradually turning my walk into a jog attempting to trick my mind into believing we were runners. But no matter how many times I ran, the first mile was rough. Call it my disdain for long distances, but every run would start out the same: winded, achy, and tired. Then some sort of magic would happen at the first-mile marker. I’d experience what can only be described as my legs moving without me telling them to and my breath settling into the new pace. 

Suddenly, I was okay. Was it hard? Yes. But I finally felt at ease. Like my mind and body were no longer fighting what I was putting it through. Mile 1 turned into mile 2, into mile 3… but let’s not get crazy. I’m no Mo Farah. 

When I asked my brother-in-law (a veteran marathon runner) about this phenomenon, he confirmed what I had long suspected.

“Mile 1 always sucks.”

I’m not going to claim that this affirmation turned me into a distance runner. But it did remind me of a lesson I had long forgotten.

In a culture built around productivity and self-improvement, we tend to put all the focus on starting or finishing more than the messiness and magic of the middle. Without fail, I wanted to quit every run at the exact same spot, right before mile 1. As I write today I can envision the wide turn on my route, crossing from one sidewalk to the other. There was even a stop sign that mirrored my inner dialogue. But stopping here meant enduring all the hard work of starting without reaping any of the benefits of the runners high.

It’s not lost on me that this is a metaphor for real life. Starting is hard. But giving up before reaching the first mile is even harder.

As you settle into this year, 3 months in, let my running story serve as a subtle reminder that when the going gets tough — know that you may just be a few short steps from finding your rhythm.