Why your slowest mile is your most important one.

The Long Run Mindset - For a Life Worth Living #2

Three months after lying in a resuscitation ward, I decided it was time to see if the “new me” actually worked.

I’d been practicing in secret on a treadmill in an old pair of trainers. My best friend, Steven—better known as “Tubby”—had been badgering me about Parkrun for ages, telling me how great it was. I hadn’t even told him I had the treadmill at home. I wasn’t ready for a crowd yet; I needed to know if I could handle the world outside my spare room.

So, on a warm Tuesday morning, I “skipped” out of work. I headed for the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, just a few hundred yards from my back door in Burnley. I wanted to see as few people as possible.

The Goal: 5 Kilometres.

I didn’t have a fancy GPS watch back then. I’d done my prep the old-fashioned way: sitting at my computer and measuring out the distance on Google Maps. I knew exactly where the turnaround point was.

I headed toward a signpost for the Burnley Way. By the time I reached that structure at the 2.5km mark, I was absolutely shattered. My body, still healing from having a metre of my insides removed, was screaming. But the thrill of actually running outside—not on a belt in a room—is what got me home.

The aftermath was a reality check. The moment I stopped, the adrenaline evaporated and I started shivering uncontrollably. I crawled into bed, teeth chattering, and rang my wife, Catherine. I was like a kid in a sweet shop—exhausted, shaking for hours, but alive. I had done it.

As I lay there, I remembered a talk I’d attended a few years earlier. It was given to business leaders in Burnley by Mike Tomlinson, the widower of the late, incredible Jane Tomlinson. He spoke about her legacy and was promoting the Burnley 10K.

With shaking hands, still lying in that bed, I found the entry page and clicked “Register.”

The Lesson Resilience isn’t found in the 100th mile of an ultra; it’s found in the 46-minute 5K when you’re terrified someone might see you. You don’t have to be fast to be a runner. You just have to be willing to shake for a few hours afterward.

What’s your “Tuesday morning” goal? The thing you’re doing in secret until you’re ready to show the world? Tell me in the comments.