Running

I once chased speed at 120 km/h on a Harley, until a crash changed everything. With metal in my arm and everyone telling me to stop riding, I had to find a new outlet.

I had to find a new way to feel alive.

Running didn’t just heal my body. It gave me rhythm, pain I chose, and mornings I wanted to wake up for.

I initially used to think running is boring. How is constantly doing the same thing fun and that too at the same location and I saw most of the people running in circles 😂

It started with pain. It turned into peace. Every milli-second hurts, but every milli-second counts.

This isn’t a fitness story. It’s about chasing freedom through pain and finding clarity in motion.

I wrote a tweet about it and to my surprise, many people found it golden.

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It took me 2 years to do a half marathon (21k) under 2 hours. I began with walking and couldn’t run even 0.1k 🫠

Here’s what worked out and what didn’t🧵

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I initially used to think running is boring. How is constantly doing the same thing fun and that too at the same location and I saw most of the people running in circles 😂

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It was indeed boring in the beginning, but what drove me was becoming fit. Being unfit started to affect my entrepreneurial journey, and brain fog was real. So I tricked my brain by listening to audiobooks while running. That way, I was constantly getting dopamine through content while walking or running

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Consistency is key. Begin with the lowest possible expectations. During the initial phase (0-1), you can exercise at any time of day and for any duration, but it’s crucial to just do it. No excuses, no devices, no shoes- just do it.

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Once I began running 2-3k without rest and was going to the ground 3-4 days a week for 12 weeks, I set my first goal of completing a 5k run in under 35 minutes. Since this is the fitness criteria for moderate hikes, I assumed that achieving this goal would automatically make me fit

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Took me 3 months and a lot of pain tolerance to finally do 5 km under 35 minutes. The feeling after accomplishing it was really satisfying. I felt fit, and brain fog vanished

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By this time, I had also begun to enjoy my runs simply for the sake of it. No audiobooks were necessary anymore. I found joy in overcoming the pain, and my mind started to process the unresolved problems that had been lingering. The nature around me was quite mesmerizing. Moreover, the endorphins released after the run were simply epic.

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I got many valuable ideas while running. Once such an ROI was achieved, it was even more justified in my head to invest in running regularly

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Next step was optimising for efficiency

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Shoes, shoes, and shoes. It’s simply not possible to improve runs if the shoes are not appropriate. First 5km, I just did with my old training shoe, but after that, I got a pair of Nike Streakfly. They really fly 😂

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Somehow the rest the thread wasn’t uploaded by X. linking it here.

A total of 9 months into training and I did my first 10k and I also did 5k under 25 mins. Yayyyy

Kush Taneja (@kushxtaneja)