Slow and Steady: 3 Lessons in Consistency

6/18/2019

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During the month of May, I took on the challenge of running and/or walking at least one mile every day for mental health awareness. The Still I Run Streak is the first "run streak" I've ever completed. Some days, that mile took everything out of me. Others, I happily ran 3-4 miles and felt great afterwards. By the end of the streak, I had run/walked a total of 60 miles in 31 days.

Unlike a race, the distance you run during a streak isn't the challenge. The challenge is remaining consistent - running that mile day in and day out, regardless of how you feel or what the weather brings. Consistency is something I've struggled with in the past, and committing to running every day for a month was my way of challenging myself to become not just more consistent in my running habit, but more intentional in all areas of my life.

In the end, those 60 miles taught me three things:

A breakdown of my mileage during the May Run Streak

1. It's easier to form new habits than it is to break old ones.

I was surprised to find that creating a new habit - running/walking every day (no matter what) - was much easier to commit to than "quitting" a bad habit. Something about adding a new activity to your routine is more appealing than subtracting something that's already ingrained in your everyday life. So instead of giving up ice cream (not going to happen), I've committed to eating more fruit this month. And guess what? I'm still enjoying my ice cream and reaping the nutritional benefits of eating more fruit at the same time. After all, it's not about depriving yourself of the things that make you happy - it's about intentionally doing things every day that are good for your body, mind and soul.

2. It actually takes less mental energy to be intentional.

When you stop seeing an activity - in this case, running/walking - as optional, you eliminate the mental battle that goes along with choosing to participate in it. The time and energy that I would usually spend debating whether or not I should go for a run (and coming up with excuses not to) was entirely eliminated when I committed to the run streak. There was nothing to debate. My run suddenly became a priority. It would happen every day. No. Matter. What.
The weird part? Not having an option was somehow incredibly freeing. I felt like a little kid again: no stressful decisions, just me, my shoes and the road.

3. Small does not equal insignificant.

One mile may not seem like much. But progress happens a little at a time, and the changes that result from small daily habits can transform your life. I have no doubt that I'm a better runner now than I was before I streaked. In fact, two weeks after the run streak ended, I completed my first quarter marathon, crushing my goal time and feeling stronger than I ever have in a race. Most of my training runs were short, 2-3 mile combinations of running and walking, but those small efforts led to much bigger results. The 6.55-mile race was the farthest I've ever run, and I couldn't have done it without consistency in my training.