September is, to students, what January 1 is to the greater population — a time of rebirth, renewal, reinvention. School is back in the swing of things, and with that, now as juniors, my friends and I were talking about all the ambitions we have for ourselves this semester; the classic, “attend office hours,” “participate in class,” “straight A’s,” until one of my roommates said something striking:Â
“Every year after the Boston Marathon, I always feel inspired to run, but never do!”
That opened the door to resolutions that have come and passed over the years that we never had the drive to uphold. Thus, in a state of motivation, we decided to create a makeshift behavior chart for all goals we want to achieve, and hung it proudly on our fridge.Â
The rules are simple: We each create a goal, and if we achieve the goal for the day, we add a tally. The person with the most tallies one month from our start date (October 14) wins!
My goal: to become a runner.Â
I grew up as a multisport athlete, competing through my freshman year of college. Running was integral to my daily life. However, it was instilled in me that running was a form of punishment; after losing a game or not performing to my capabilities at practice, running was the consequence I had to pay. After 20 years of being conditioned to fear running, it is safe to say that it is pretty rare for me to lace up my shoes and go for a run.Â
That all changed last week when I went for my very first run of the challenge. My goal was just to see how long I could go without stopping, and I surprised myself by going significantly farther than I had anticipated.Â
As silly as it sounds, I felt an immense sense of pride in checking off that first tally next to my name. My competitive spirit had been awoken again.Â
Day by day, I have found my stride. Going a little bit further each day, a bit faster. I’m not chasing a personal record or prepping for Boston (yet), but every run is starting to feel less like a chore and more like a choice. The tallies on the fridge may just be etched in pen on a post-it note, but they’ve come to represent something a bit more permanent.
Progress, however small, adds up: mile by mile, tally by tally, step by step.
And if I happen to beat my roommates while I’m at it? Well, that’s just cardio with a cause.
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