Prathima's Miles & Milestones

When I stopped chasing pace, I started finding joy in every mile

I love running. Running slower allows me to run more, so running slower is a no-brainer. The legs are in inertia. The breathing is relaxed. Every time my legs touch the ground, they go up higher. It’s like feather-touch. Yet, it grabs enough strength to pull back. This moment is consistent. Not too fast to go breathless or very high heart-rate, nor too slow that it feels like walking effortlessly.

Your pace or mileage doesn’t define you.
What truly matters is showing up for yourself — day after day. 
After all, no one asks a painter how quickly they finish a canvas.
No one asks a chef how many dishes they cook in a week. 
We’re all creators in our own way — what counts is the consistency, not the speed.

It’s not about running faster on your daily runs. It’s making those daily runs longer and more frequent. Not getting injured or burned out. Running slower allows for all of that and builds a big engine. You need a foundation for sustainable improvement. Your biggest improvement comes from slowing down, running more, and being patient for a few months for those endurance adaptations to happen. If you do, that’s when running gets a lot of fun. You become what you practice every day. In sports, this is obvious — In life, it is equally true.

The irony of people who say, “I hate running”, is that they are going way too hard every single time. Of course, they hate it since their body don’t cope with it. I would hate it too, if I were tired and worn out & crashed after each run. I go fast only for strides, which in a race I’d go all-out when I’m towards the finish line for great pictures 🙂

Once you learn to embrace going slower, you feel good, and you can go longer. That’s a steady pace where the heart rate is normal & your body enjoys every leap you take, against the wind. Going longer and doing more volume helps you achieve faster results. Then your slow pace isn’t so slow anymore, which makes running a lot of fun. This is the open secret of running.

I used to chase speed every time I laced up my shoes. If my pace dropped, I’d feel like I failed. But somewhere between exhaustion and frustration, I learned that running fast isn’t what makes you better — running consistently does.

Some runs feel effortless. Others feel like dragging a tired body through wet sand. But showing up, even when you feel “meh,” that’s where growth, resilience, grit, & endurance hide. Heart rate training taught me that lesson the hard way. Slowing down to what felt too easy was uncomfortable for my ego. Yet it was exactly what my body needed. Not everyone is meant to run at a 4 pace. Showing up for runs every morning is an achievement in itself, not a punishment.

When I stayed in that easy zone — sometimes even walking to keep my heart rate under control — my endurance built quietly in the background.
That’s when I finally understood the phrase: Run slow to get faster.

By running slowly, I got much better at burning fat as a fuel source. The better you are at burning fat, the higher your floor. Everybody’s slow is different. 70% of max heart rate, walk if necessary. Those slow runs are needed to better fortify your base, not to mention to get your legs acclimated to all the pounding from longer distances and/or harder landings from faster runs. Patience is key when it comes to figuring out how to become a better runner.

Improvement doesn’t happen in the fast lane. It happens when you build the habit, when you trust the process, and when you stop trying to prove something on every run.

And funny enough, that’s when running got fun again. That’s when I opted for many 50 kms races & completed them before the cut-off. Distance matters, not the pace, unless you train for the Olympics.

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Hi, I’m Prathima 😊. I write about mindful living, running🏃‍♀️, cooking🍳, and turning everyday routines into moments of happiness ✨.

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