45-minute easy run today that was meant to be genuinely slow.

And I find it hard - every time.

Not because of Strava.

Not because of what anyone else might think.

It’s all on me.

I struggle to go slow because part of me feels like it’s wasted potential. Like I’m not pushing forward, not progressing, not making the most of the time I have.

I know it’s wrong. I know that running slow is exactly how you build a strong aerobic base.

…I know it makes you more efficient, more resilient, better in the long run.

But mentally, I still struggle with it.

When I actually stay with the slower pace - it forces me to zoom out.

To stop judging progress by how hard something feels in the moment, and start feeling it by what it builds over time.

It’s just running…

I’ve noticed I try to sprint a lot of things that don’t want to be sprinted.

Fitness is just a great example of this:

I’ve lost a lot of weight over the last year, and now the goal isn’t really “less” anymore - it’s building strength, future fitness, more muscle, longevity.

And yet part of me still wants to rush it.

As if fitness has a final destination that you arrive at, rather than something that’s constantly evolving and earned - week after week.

Parenting is another one. This one’s harder to admit.

I’m very aware of how fast time moves, and I really try not to wish it away while the kids are young. But there’s also a part of me that’s quietly trying to get to some future point where life feels more settled, more content, more “there”.

And in doing that, I risk rushing through the very years I’ll probably miss the most.

That’s an uncomfortable one to sit with, for me.

It all comes back to the same thing: impatience with the present, dressed up as ambition for the future.

I’m realising that a lot of my stress comes from future projections.

From trying to solve things that aren’t even here yet - and may never arrive!

Uncertainty breeds anxiety because it lives entirely in imagined futures. When I bring myself back to what’s actually true right now, things always feel better, less dramatic and softer - somehow.

Right now, life is pretty good.

We’re safe. We’re healthy. We’re together.

There are things we want to improve, of course.

Goals we’re moving toward. But we’re not behind.

Slowing down on the run is practice for this.

🐢 Trusting that progress doesn’t always feel fast.
📈 Trusting that consistency compounds.
👆 Trusting that you don’t need to sprint to move forward.

Sometimes the most disciplined thing you can do is ease off the pace and keep going anyway.

Here’s a quote I heard this week that I really liked - just on case it resonates with you:

“…if you’re going through hell, just keep going”.

— Chris

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