Incremental Progress

In today's world we expect everything to happen fast. Fast food, fast transport, instant weight loss, same day delivery, we want more of everything and in less time.  While this is (probably) fine for things that are mechanical, it doesn't work so well for biological processes.

Let's use diets for example. You can indeed lose a lot of weight very quickly if you take radical action, such as cutting out all carbs (done it) or only eating apples for a month (no, I'm not that nuts).  But it won't last, it isn't a lifestyle, it is a transient fling with food and before you know it, you are back to where you started.  Nature doesn't like being rushed.

What brought on this line of thinking you may well ask? Well, today I looked back on my running times from way back in July 2010, when I had first started into running.  I did 3.8km in 29 minutes and 47 seconds, or 7:50 per km pace... and I remember that run, I honestly thought I might die.  Seriously, visions of lungs exploding or feet falling off were going through my head.  That wasn't even my first run, it was just the first I recorded with an app on my phone.  My first "run" involved a run/walk "strategy" whereby I would shift my fat ass for a few hundred metres before falling back into a gasping zombie-like lurch until the pattern could be repeated over and over. 

Post run

Flash forward a little less than 3 years later and I can comfortably bang out a half marathon in less than an hour and three quarters (~4:45 pace) on any given weekend for the sheer joy of it.  Now that's progress!

Upon reflection, this has taught me a number of important lessons:

• Keep a log of your progress.  Change doesn't happen quickly, but if you capture the metrics, you will be able to look back and take pride in what you have accomplished.
• Don't rush it.  Looking back, most of my injuries came from pushing too hard too early.  4 weeks of slow progress beats 1 week of awesome and 3 weeks of limping around cursing yourself.
• The best stuff in life is worth struggling, striving and fighting for.  Seriously, life is one hard slog after another, but totally worth it.  Consider the alternative.
• Running is awesome. Everyone hates it at first, but if you stick with it, what you get out of it far exceeds what you put in.  It becomes fun to do, fun to stop doing and makes everything else in your day better.  

So while my progress thus far has been aided immensely by my new plant powered life, it is all built on a solid platform of constant effort and steady payoff.  Sustainable change rocks :)