Quick 3km tonight.

I committed to No Days Off in January, but with the bar set really, really low.

Three kilometres is the minimum. That’s it.

And honestly, setting it that low protects me from failure. It protects me from not going at all. If I’ve got 15 minutes before it goes pitch black, I can get around the block. I can always find 15 minutes. There’s no pressure there.

December was different. I did the running advent and ended up running about 310km across the month. Some of those runs were 19, 20, 21, 22HM up to 24KM on Christmas Eve - slow, steady, just trying to survive them.

When you’re running that slow, those runs take two and a half, sometimes three hours.

Sometimes on holiday. Before the kids woke up. In the dark. It was tough, but I got it done.

January feels lighter.

Tonight especially.

I’d been at home feeling anxious - tight chest, noisy head - even though my heart rate was low. That’s how stress shows up for me. Always in my chest. I start worrying about my heart, my breathing, whether something’s wrong.

So just before it got properly dark, I got the shoes out and went out.

Cold. Chilly. Slightly icy.

And for me, anxiety dissolves through movement 100% of the time. Not thinking. Not analysing. Moving. Proving to myself that my body is okay.

Every single time.

This run wasn’t about fitness.

It was about changing my state.

What I’m learning at the moment is that sustainability beats intensity for me. I can run slowly, methodically, without any pressure, and still get the benefit. Right now, running is as much a mental health tool as it is a physical one. It doesn’t all need to be optimised training.

And I think it’s because discipline creates space.

When I know I’m running - no matter the weather, the mood, the chaos - it removes thinking time. There’s no debate. It’s just done. And weirdly, that discipline breeds creativity.

Strict boundaries in one area give me freedom in others.

I keep coming back to that.

What would no days off look like outside of running? Probably the same idea.

Something embarrassingly small. A minute of meditation while the kettle boils.

One page of writing. One walk. Something you can always do.

Give it a short window. January. Thirty days. Not forever.

Constraints help. Discipline helps. They remove friction. They stop me negotiating with myself all day.

Not much else to report today - and that’s fine.

Some days aren’t about breakthroughs.

They’re about keeping the promise.

— Chris

Until the next run…

Mood follows action