I wake up to my 71st day of summer vacation. It's 7:50 a.m. I look outside: another hazy, humid morning to add to the books. It's no excuse to miss the daily morning run though.
I lace up and start my 35-minute run. Even though it’s barely past 8 a.m., the sun is beating down, creating a thick, humid haze. I endure the heat as the minutes pass on. AJR, Bruno Mars and Train keep me company as I run by cars that inevitably speed down the road.
I've always hated running in the heat. The run drags on and on, and it’s so much more painful than it has to be. The heat sucks the energy out of me; it feels like I’m crawling instead of running. I sometimes ask myself, “why do I suffer through the heat and humidity every day?” I could very easily snooze my alarm, and sleep in (9 a.m. is my max) with the AC blasting.
But I don’t. For some reason, if I don’t go on my morning run, I'll feel guilty. Skipping that run will haunt me, keep me up and make me regret staying in bed an extra 30 minutes.
This strict mindset stems from running cross country and track in high school. Practice was at 3 p.m. Every day. Rain or shine. Sunday was our designated rest day. No matter how hot it was, we would run. Even if it required our coach to spray water on us with a hose during a workout, you would find us running. Even if it was pouring rain, windy and below freezing, you would find us running (bundled up beyond recognition).
Even though I wouldn’t be having the most fun in these conditions, wishing I was in the comfort of my home, I knew I would’ve regretted skipping that run. Those difficult runs built me into a more determined, strong, hardworking person and runner. Through this regimen, my coaches taught me to be disciplined and determined. It made the difference, both physically and mentally.
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Now, over a year has passed since my last high school track practice. Every run doesn’t hold as much importance as it did then; missing a couple runs isn’t going to make or break my season. It really doesn’t matter anymore.
Nevertheless, missing a run will make or break my mindset. I can’t stand to betray that part of myself — the part that pushes me to get up every morning and run. Because even though it can be painful and not ideal, it makes me who I am. I don’t want to lose the ability or motivation. The motivation is hard to build up and easy to lose.
I’ve applied this mindset in the academic realm as well. It has helped me build a routine to stay on top of things because every moment and effort matters. Every step will take you closer to achieving your goal. Even though I currently don’t have a specific goal in mind with running, every step reinforces and renews my mindset. It may seem unnecessary to punish myself mentally and feel guilty for missing a run, yet that feeling of crawling through the humidity and heat day in and day out is always worth it.
Isabella Vesperini (she/her) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and minoring in Italian.
