I Ran 5 Kilometers Daily for 30 Days

11 Life Lessons You Can Take Home

I will go straight to the point. In November 2022, I decided to take up a new challenge for a month. Two days before, I had just participated in my first-ever half-marathon event, which left me yearning for more of the adrenaline that came with the event. I dared to challenge my body, particularly my legs, into 30 days of running, 5 kilometers each day. Here is what I gathered after running five kilometers daily in the month of November 2022.

Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash

Notably, I did two more half-marathons in the course of the month-long program. I clocked 145.46 km of running and 109.76 kilometers of walking. I burnt a total of 19,452 kcal. There were about five days when I could not run, mostly during weekends, but I substituted running by walking a similar distance.

Additionally, I would run anywhere and everywhere I would be. That meant having my workout gear with me every day, even though I barely left the same city. I did not have a specific course to run, as long as it was a safe place, say a road, field track, or a nature park.

Lesson 1:

It’s possible in a day.

It takes about 35 minutes to 1 hour daily to accomplish a 5-kilometer run. The bigger picture here is that you can find time to work out or do any other thing you commit to do daily. In my case of working out, surely, it can fit into a day’s schedule, regardless of how busy you are.

Lesson 2:

Just show up.

Weather cannot be an excuse not to run, or workout in general. There is not a single day that is the same as the other, making the weather very unpredictable for outdoor activities. While you may want to follow your weather predictions as a guarantee that you will not run in the rains or when the sun is shining hot, there is no guarantee that the weather won’t change when you’re in the middle of your activity. The most important thing is to show up. Just show up. Remember that you aren’t ice that you’ll melt in the sun, or salt to dissolve in the rain.

Lesson 3:

The mind is stronger than the body.

Running daily is no mean feat. The body will absorb a good amount of fatigue, while your mind might start speaking defeat. However, you must remember that the entire feat is more of a mental test than a physical test. There will be days you will not feel like it, but your mind has to conquer all negative voices. Keep reminding yourself that the mind is stronger than the body and you’ll be done before you know it.

Lesson 4:

Never Walk Alone.

I am sure you’ve heard about this phrase at least once in your life.  That statement is as true as it comes. Having an accountability partner or group to share progress with can make you go far. While I ran alone throughout the entire program, I was sharing my progress daily with a colleague who was also committed to a similar challenge. The daily sharing about the challenges, wins, emotions, and all that came with running daily would keep us in the rhythm. Knowing that the challenges and experiences that you’re going through are not an isolated case helps to cope.

Lesson 5:

Keep your eyes on the prize.

The first ten days or so were riddled with struggles of aching muscles, sore feet, trying to find the right time to run during the day, as well as speckles of self-doubt. I had to be intentional that there was a goal that was to be met. Running until the 30^th day was my prize. I kept my eyes on that prize. On extremely tough days, I walked or ran at the slowest pace possible. I just kept moving.

Lesson 6:

Build yourself to last.

Sustaining a month-long run required fresh legs and muscles at their best. Achieving this fitness required proper and sufficient stretching pre- and post-workouts. Proper stretching as a warmup or cool down will go a long way in preventing injuries. I learned to build myself to last. I avoided wearing myself out too much on a day in a way that would jeopardize the remaining days.

Lesson 7:

Love yourself enough.

Another way to last long is to love yourself enough into a physiotherapy’s room. Go for physiotherapy sessions to work on your accumulating lactic acid, sore feet, straining leg muscles, and overall goodness. Invest on yourself to be the best you can and to keep giving the best to whatever cause you’re committed to.

Lesson 8:

Invest in your wellness.

Investing in yourself when doing a physical activity involves getting the right gear to avoid unnecessary injuries like black toes from tight shoes, sore heels from the wrong running shoes, thigh burns from the wrong leggings and other injuries like sunburn and frost bites. You cannot go fishing with a hoe, neither can you go digging with a fishing line. You’ll catch nothing.

Lesson 9:

Technology is beautiful.

In a world that is fast-moving technologically, you cannot be found lagging behind. Tracking your workouts might sound nerdish or obsessive, but you’ll love it when you see how much you’re achieving with every effort. I used a smart watch and my mobile phone to track my runs, and that’s why I am able to present to you these statistics as evidence that I ran. Technology is not your enemy. Allow it to complement your life and make work easier where necessary.

Lesson 10:

Your health is your wealth.

You wake up early to go to work and sleep late chasing the bag. There is nothing wrong with that, for sure. We all do. However, in the pursuit of happiness, you must remember that it’s your body that primarily needs to experience that happiness. Keeping that body in good health takes you half there. I enjoyed the health benefits of running daily for a month as I registered my weight goal and my ideal BMI. Moreover, I realized experienced intangible benefits like an enhanced mental health. Just try running and experience the runners’ high for yourself.

Lesson 11:

For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things.

While you put your body to task, do not forget to practice spiritual discipline for it will profit all things. Practice daily prayer and bible study and you’ll be a wholesome being. A healthy spirit, a healthy body.

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What Next?

Is it possible to take on such a challenge? Do you have any questions about my experience? Which challenges have you ever tried, and what did you learn? I’d like to hear your views.