# Running

- Date: 2025-01-08
- dateModified: 2026-10-23T17:47:34.000Z
- Category: everything-else
- URL: https://kushtaneja.com/born-to-run

I once chased speed at 120 km/h on a Harley, until a crash changed everything. With metal in my arm and everyone telling me to stop riding, I had to find a new outlet.

I had to find a new way to feel alive.

Running didn’t just heal my body. It gave me rhythm, pain I chose, and mornings I wanted to wake up for.

I initially used to think running is boring. How is constantly doing the same thing fun and that too at the same location and I saw most of the people running in circles 😂

It started with pain. It turned into peace. Every milli-second hurts, but every milli-second counts.

This isn’t a fitness story. It’s about chasing freedom through pain and finding clarity in motion.

I wrote a tweet about it and to my surprise, many people found it golden.

It took me 2 years to do a half marathon (21k) under 2 hours. I began with walking and couldn’t run even 0.1k 🫠
Here’s what worked out and what didn’t🧵

I initially used to think running is boring. How is constantly doing the same thing fun and that too at the same location and I saw most of the people running in circles 😂

It was indeed boring in the beginning, but what drove me was becoming fit. Being unfit started to affect my entrepreneurial journey, and brain fog was real. So I tricked my brain by listening to audiobooks while running. That way, I was constantly getting dopamine through content while walking or running

Consistency is key. Begin with the lowest possible expectations. During the initial phase (0-1), you can exercise at any time of day and for any duration, but it’s crucial to just do it. No excuses, no devices, no shoes- just do it.

Once I began running 2-3k without rest and was going to the ground 3-4 days a week for 12 weeks, I set my first goal of completing a 5k run in under 35 minutes. Since this is the fitness criteria for moderate hikes, I assumed that achieving this goal would automatically make me fit

Took me 3 months and a lot of pain tolerance to finally do 5 km under 35 minutes. The feeling after accomplishing it was really satisfying. I felt fit, and brain fog vanished

By this time, I had also begun to enjoy my runs simply for the sake of it. No audiobooks were necessary anymore. I found joy in overcoming the pain, and my mind started to process the unresolved problems that had been lingering. The nature around me was quite mesmerizing. Moreover, the endorphins released after the run were simply epic.

I got many valuable ideas while running. Once such an ROI was achieved, it was even more justified in my head to invest in running regularly

Next step was optimising for efficiency

Shoes, shoes, and shoes. It’s simply not possible to improve runs if the shoes are not appropriate. First 5km, I just did with my old training shoe, but after that, I got a pair of Nike Streakfly. They really fly 😂

Somehow the rest the thread wasn’t uploaded by X. linking it here.
A total of 9 months into training and I did my first 10k and I also did 5k under 25 mins. Yayyyy
Kush Taneja (@kushxtaneja)

My schedule was like this:
Sunday: Long runs
Tuesday: Tempo runs
Thursday: Easy runs
Saturday: 400m Sprints
Since along with running my body I also had to run a company 🥲
I figured I can manage to take out 1 hour every day in the early morning like 7am ish. the excitement to wake up early for run also fixed my sleep

The only aim from this point of time was to always do better than the last run. Sometimes distance or sometimes pace

Sometimes if I wasn’t able to wake up early and had to do in the evening, it didn’t work well for me. I terribly failed in doing better than the last run. I think empty stomach runs are the best for me and since then I always preferred mornings even more

I started signing up for 5k, 10k marathons and they were extremely fun

Music helped in the early days but then the beat frequency started to affect my pace and efficiency. I got easily tiered after many fluctuations in the pace, that’s when I shifted to @EndelSound

Runs with @EndelSound are too good. The constant sync between the freshly baked music and my heartbeat made sure I am running at consistent pace. This was a major stepping stone to do longer runs like 21k

For consistent pace, I also used another hack: sometimes while doing strength training, I’d do a 20 min treadmill run on only one pace (a faster one)

I also noticed a weird pattern, the days I was not aiming for a personal best were the days I did achieve them 😅
Here are my PBs for 5k, 10k and 21k

Also, I wanted to mention that there were many days I didn’t feel like going for a run. Whenever there were enough challenges already on my plate from work/ personal, I couldn’t find the energy to go for a run. Earlier, I used to be disappointed, but later I made peace with it.

I was able to make peace because I understand the concept of stress+rest = growth or the balance of pain and pleasure. @WHOOP also helped measure it daily. I also made sure once I had enough rest, I went back and worked harder for my runs.

I ran/walked 362/730 days, which is not ideal but good enough. There were weeks I simply couldn’t go for a single run, and the longest gap between two runs was 14 days. What I learnt the most is that it’s not important to run every day but to run when you can

Also, the photo I posted is from my first 5k under 21 mins. I am also wearing headphones, which were helpful then, but now I enjoy runs without them. It was just the best running picture I had 😅

Hope this is helpful in your running journey ✌️