Running Made Me Slower (In a Good Way)

Running Made Me Slower (In a Good Way)

I started running in 2022 because everyone I knew was running and I didn't want to be left out. That's the honest reason. Not health, not mental clarity, not a transformative YouTube video. Peer pressure. Works on adults too.

For the first year I was obsessed with pace. Every run tracked. Every split analyzed. The watch on my wrist buzzing to tell me I was five seconds slow on this mile. I was running 4-5 times a week, genuinely miserable for most of it, but improving on paper.

My 5K time dropped. My 10K time dropped. I ran a half marathon, finished in a time I was moderately proud of, and then the next morning couldn't walk down stairs without holding the railing.