Slow Down to Speed Up
Running saved my life; it can transform yours, too.
Lost. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t go home. The thought of sitting in my small, silent room, alone with my thoughts, brought a wave of terror.
So I kept running.
Last year, I discovered how the life you’ve built can crumble bit by bit. Suddenly you find yourself scraping rock bottom asking, “how the hell did I get here?”
The cracks in my seemingly perfect life began with a separation from my spouse. Those cracks grew quickly into permanent fissures — a divorce that created an impassable canyon. I took a deployment to escape the reality of my failed relationship, only to find out one month in that my mom had cancer. Months later, I was assigned to a remote tour in Korea. I was thousands of miles away (both physically and emotionally) from the people I loved. My job was demanding and stressful. I was miserable.
On a particularly stressful day, I started out on my regular 5k running route, charging along at full-speed per normal. My mentality was the faster I ran, the sooner it’d be over. The intent was pushing my body to the point where I could no longer think or feel anything other than my racing heartbeat, burning muscles, and gasping breath.
That particular day, it wasn’t working. No matter how fast I went, I couldn’t escape the feelings of anxiety and inadequacy and loneliness I’d been running from for so long. I slowed to a walk, the setting-sun casting purple and orange hues in the distance. Tears filled my eyes. Where to go from here, when the last bit of reprieve, the last means of escape, remains just outside my grasp?
What else is there to do but keep going.
By the time I was back to my place, it had been dark for some time. I couldn’t feel my legs, I couldn’t feel much of anything. Success! I ran longer than I’d ever run consecutively before — 45 minutes. Just like that, I was hooked.
The Journey
Although I’ve been a lifelong athlete and played plenty of sports growing up, I never considered myself a runner. On the contrary, “conditioning” was always the most dreaded part of each practice. Yet even then it taught me an important lesson. You suck it up and endure, you grind it out, and soon enough it’s over. You’re on the other side, and you’re better for it.
1. Start with the why…
When my competitive soccer career ended after high school, I was forced to figure out a fitness regimen to replace the miles of running built into practices and games. Without soccer, my only rationale for exercising was to fight off the infamous Freshman Fifteen. So I ran, begrudgingly, for the sole purpose of staying lean (i.e. to “look good”).
Unfortunately, this singular motive caused me to view running as a chore, equally banal as doing the dishes or folding the laundry. With this mindset, I had a tendency to run as quickly as I could for as short a time as possible, thinking “how can I make this suck less and still get a workout in?”
This shortsighted and superficial motivation for running drove me to despise it. Over time, I started questioning: why am I even doing this to begin with?
With limited time on earth, shouldn’t all of our activities count for something meaningful in our lives? This is what makes selecting a profession or career so difficult. And yet, when trying to decide how to spend our time, our most precious resource, we often fall into the trap of instrumentalizing activities. We drudge through daily requirements like exercise, laundry, or calling to check in on our parents as a means to an end — a box to check off.
What if, instead, we found inherent value in the simple joys that an activity has to offer? Whether in your career, family life, exercise, or any endeavor… unless you can find enjoyment in the act of the thing itself, your long-term commitment to the goal or behavior will inevitably wane over time. If the promised results (fame, fortune, freedom, fitness, etc.) fail to materialize, you’re bound to lose motivation and quit.
It took me nearly ten years to realize this. My shallow objective of staying lean was far from motivating, and I was sick of allocating time to something I dreaded doing. Everything changed after that groundbreaking 45-minute run. I’d been hooked on the feeling, the flow state, that settled in as I chased the setting sun, the stress floating out of my body as I ran into the darkening night sky. Suddenly, my eyes were open to a world of possibilities.
2. Phone-a-Friend (Even a Digital One)
Okay, I’ll admit it — I run alone 95% of the time. As an introvert, I use a run as a time to reflect and reset. It’s a cherished part of my routine. Even then, I’d be lying if I said I somehow miraculously shifted my mindset towards running on all my own. Far from it — a serendipitous download of the Nike Run Club (NRC) app introduced me to a new side of the sport and gave me access to insights from professional running coaches.
The best aspect of NRC guided runs the little voice of encouragement from coaches that are at once understanding, motivating, and challenging. A supportive voice telling me sometimes it’s okay to slow down and it’s okay if a run is feeling awful. Reminding me that the simple act of starting a run is a success.
With the help of the NRC app, I discovered that the seemingly simple sport of running was surprisingly nuanced. There are speed runs and long runs and tempo runs and recovery runs (“how the hell can you recover while you’re running?” I remember thinking). I learned to diversify my distances, paces, and effort to ensure I could run consistently.
My fascination with the sport grew as I listened to guided runs that included interviews with some of the world’s greatest runners. Eliud Kipchoge maintained a break-neck speed of under 4:35 per mile for a whopping 26.5 miles when he became the first human to break the 2-hour barrier. In 1984, Joan Benoit Samuelson qualified for the first-ever women’s Olympic marathon, only 17 days after completing arthroscopic knee surgery (spoiler alert: she went on to win the gold medal).
To amateur athletes like myself, these feats seem as unattainable as they are incredible. Yet it isn’t about trying to emulate astonishing athletic achievements. It's about gaining inspiration — appreciating the miracle of the human body and the resilience of the human spirit.
3. Start with a Purpose
Until NRC Coach Chris Bennett entered my life, I’d never been told that running easy was running smart. In soccer, you have to run hard and fast often. There is no real concept of pacing yourself, even though you have to be moving for ninety minutes straight. This mentality is a terrible foundation for a runner. Coach Bennett repeatedly encourages runners to take it easy, especially at the beginning of a run. If you want to enjoy your runs, it’s okay to slow down a little. Life doesn’t have to be a sprint.
Coach Bennett also taught me that every run had a purpose, and none of them should be to “get it over with.”
On long runs, I find myself covering greater distances by simply slowing down my pace, relaxing my breathing, and enjoying the scenery.
On speed runs, I rediscover power, strength, and the freedom of flight.
On recovery runs, I clear my mind and find quiet amidst the chaos.
On gratitude runs, I am yanked outside of my small egotistical world to remember all the people and places that got me here.
On mindful runs, I am pulled back into my body — encouraging me to reconnect with my breathing, the tempo of each striking foot, the strength and synchrony of my movements.
NRC helped me learn to mix it up. I began having fun with my running, and improvements followed. Yet better statistics on my watch was only a sliver of the benefit I saw. The lessons learned while hitting the pavement or the trails carried over into every aspect of my life.
4. Starting is Success
I’ll never forget that first long run or my first trail run, or my first run coming back from a break. The scenes play like movies in my mind — reminding me that all you have to do is be brave enough to take the starting line. Even when you feel like you might fall short, or you have nothing left to give, simply lacing up your shoes and stepping outside is a success.
Sure, you will encounter obstacles. You will have failures. You might get tired and have to walk. You might not be able to run as far or as fast or as long as you’d planned. You might even have to pause the run to quickly duck inside during a thunderstorm, or worse, rush to a toilet. The beauty of running is that regardless of what happens after you cross the threshold, you’ve been brave enough to start. And no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, crossing the starting line is always a victory.
Why You Should (Re)Discover Running, Too
After years of sweating it out mindlessly in the gym or hammering my body into submission on runs and hating every minute… I finally realized exercise didn’t have to be this way. It didn’t have to be an all-out sprint, a rush to check the “fitness” box and go about my day.
Exercise, and running in particular, can be so much more. It can be a window to the soul. It can be an immense stress-reliever. It can be a companion when the rest of the world goes quiet.
If done right, running can be a perpetual teacher, a life coach unlike any other. It can be humbling at times, empowering at others. It can reveal your inner strength. It can be a powerful motivator, a small success to carry into the rest of your day.
Best of all, by challenging your mental and physical fortitude, running builds resilience. The phrase “embrace the suck” is common in military circles. The meaning is intuitive; accept your reality, and capture the opportunity for improvement and growth. This concept will be familiar to any endurance athlete — success requires learning to not only endure but to embrace physical pain and the mental strain that accompanies it.
Despite how it may sound, there’s nothing sadistic or self-denigrating about embracing the suck. The purpose of pain is growth. Striving to overcome physical and mental challenges strengthens our ability to withstand stress and prepare for future unknowns.
Nothing teaches you to embrace suffering more than running. The highs and lows of a run mirror the ebb and flow of life. Some days starting a run feels impossible. Some days everything feels out of sync. You’ll run through sore legs, scorching hot days, and aching lungs. It’ll hurt, and you’ll want to quit. But you keep going because that’s what runners do.
Similarly, running has taught me that the mind is more powerful than I ever imagined. It can persist through negative emotions with the same resiliency as it can overcome physical pain and discomfort.
Running has forced me to get comfortable with all manners of thought, including the voice in my head telling me to stay on the couch, to quit early, to slow down, or to simply never start. Running has taught me I’m not a slave to these thoughts — they’re just along for the ride. Thoughts and feelings will inevitably come and go, but I don’t have to act on any of them. Rather than trying to beat back negative thoughts, I allow them to pass freely, instead of focusing my energy on controlling my actions.
With this mentality, I feel like I can conquer anything. Fear, lingering doubt, waning motivation. These are just temporary feelings, as fleeting as the next.
And when the negative thoughts and feelings seem unshakeable, a run can be your savior. When everything else is going wrong, a run can be your single success on a terrible day. In those moments, even the worst run can feel like a massive victory. I consider simply lacing up my running shoes and stepping out of the door as a success. Chalk it up as a W, even if all else goes to hell.
Find What Sets you Free
In my darkest moments, running was an escape, a life preserver. At the time, I empathized with the quote, “I don’t run because I love running, I run because I love the way I feel when I’m done.” I’d finish feeling exhausted but at peace. The slate was wiped clean, if only for a brief moment.
Over time and through plenty of practice, running has transformed into my favorite choose-your-own-adventure game. A run offers the opportunity to check out of the constant banter of my inner mind and become immersed in the momentum of each stride. I can take in the sights of the city or breathe in the fresh forest air, escaping my racing thoughts to fully embrace the present.
Alternatively, I do some of my best thinking during a long run, away from the stress of screens and people. I tend to get lost in my thoughts, reflecting on the day or imagining the future, until suddenly the run is ending. Whether or not it’s been a personal best in terms of distance, duration, or pace, I almost always end a run with new ideas, a fresh perspective, and a renewed energy to take on the world.
The more you give to running, the more it gives back. Through practice, running has become so much more to me than an escape or a distraction from my problems. It has opened a new door to freedom, personal growth, and a pathway to greater mindfulness. Running has opened my eyes to the physical miracle of the human body, the ability of mind and motion to seamlessly connect, producing a zenlike feeling of energy, focus, and flow.
What Are You Waiting For?
General exercise, and running in particular, offers benefits far beyond physical fitness. If approached the right way, from a mindset of positivity and patience, exercise can help you rewrite your entire story. Every day is a fresh slate — every morning presents the opportunity to move, to put your body into its natural state of being.
The human body, like all objects, is subject to Newton’s first law of physics, the law of inertia: “An object set in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.” Starting the motion is always the hardest part. But if running has taught me anything it’s this: nothing worth doing is ever easy, and we can endure so much more than we believe possible.
Boundaries can be broken; new frontiers can be discovered. All you have to do is start. So what are you waiting for?
