25th Running Class
8 years ago, I did a 100-day running streak to prove to myself I could do something without quitting. It worked! I stuck to the 100 days! I ran 1 mile every day for 100 days.
Except it also didn't work. On day 101, I was so relieved to not have to run anymore. In fact, I didn't run for another 6 months because the thought of running gave me the ick.
The only way I could get myself to run again was to sign up for a marathon with a training plan...
It was this perpetual game I played with myself. I was only exercising if I had some sort of competition going on. But like... you can't live life like this. You still need to exercise even if you don't have a game to play. You still need to take care of yourself even if there isn't something to work towards...
So now... I don't really exercise to accomplish a finite goal. I exercise to take care of myself.
I used to play a finite game that would come to an end. And now I play an infinite game where the purpose of the game is to keep playing.
During a finite game, there is a lot of pressure.
During an infinite game, the purpose is to do enough to keep the game going but not too much that prevents you from playing again.
So cheers to my 25th running class... but the point is to just keep showing up. I expect 50 and 100 to come but there isn't pressure to get to them.
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Jaclyn Ricchio
Hey! It's Jaclyn. I'm here to help you stop feeling like a failure by getting consistent with mornings, meals, movement... anything. I hope you stick around and read a bit, will ya?
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