How Running Got Me Writing and Vice Versa

The first book I self-published was Running the Millionaire Lane.

If you want to learn what-not-to-do as a newbie writer, you got to read this book.

It’s available on Kindle. It will not tell you what not to do, but will show you!

Don’t write in passive sentences.
Don’t publish a draft.
Don’t pantser (write off-the-seat-of-your-pants) without a clear beginning, middle, or end.

For $0.99, this will open your eyes to the sad reality that evades most newbie writers (like me).

Writing a book entails more than passion and purpose.

Learning the craft takes a while if talent is meager.

That’s clear value for your pennies!

But one thing this book will teach is determination.

And if your goal is to run 10K in a few weeks, this book will inspire you.

Determination got me from point A (someone who hated running) to point B (someone who craved running).

It did not occur overnight.

And many people who read it actually said, “If she can do it, I can.”

Yes, that’s how pathetic I am as a runner, enough to inspire anyone, especially a non-runner.

Because I managed to finish a 10K on my first race (almost crawling to the finish line), and improved on my time after a few weeks of training.

And those who read the book, and allowed it to inspire them, also managed to run 10K after a couple of weeks.

I published this book ten years ago.

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It seemed prophetic when I mentioned potential migration to the US because here I am ten years after, living on the other side of the world and pursuing my writing dream.

In 2009, we moved to this land of milk and honey. But I had to “milk the cow” back then and “gathered the honey that exposed me to tons of bee stings.”

Nothing fairy tale-like about our immigrant story.

In 2010, I sustained a chronic back injury from an occupational hazard of lifting my patient, which limited my ability to run.

In 2016, concurrent with my decision to pursue writing as a full-time career, ministry, and work vocation, I found a chiropractor who managed to pull me back to running.

Since then, I found running as the best remedy to writer’s block, coupled with praying and reading.

And here are the top lessons I learned from running that I applied to my writer’s life:

1) Maintain a good pace.

- Going too fast risks injury and robs me of the joy of the activity. Going too slow does not achieve my goals.

- The right pace is to start slow and increase to a comfortable breathing pace.

2) Minimize extraneous movements.

- Keep feet grounded. Take small brisk steps. Keep my hands close to my body. Avoid distractions.

3) Less is more.

- Make it simple. Don’t complicate the set-up. Use the basic tools needed to get going.

4) Be consistent.

- Thirty minutes once a week is not enough.

- Two or three times a week is better than nothing.

- Cross training in between minimizes boredom.

5) Having a purpose keeps the passion going.

- Motivation fuels the engine.

- The higher the purpose, the greater the motivation.

Recently, family and friends spurred me to train for a half-marathon.

Why I bit the bullet after telling myself, I will never run in a race again and subject myself to unnecessary stress and pressure, which are potential ingredients for running woes?

It was because they made it sound fun!

“Let’s join the Disney Princess Half-Marathon in Florida next year!”

And I thought of every magical reason I could concoct.

One, I get to become a running princess for a day. Sounds like Cinderella without the glass slippers.

Two, it’s a couple of months away. I have time to train. Surely, it won’t be that hard.

Three, a chance to win a Disney medal and celebrate in Disney style (hopefully with the fireworks and roasted Turkey legs).

… As long as I finish the run in less than 3.5 hours so Mickey Mouse’s magic broom will not sweep me off the running course, I should be okay.

So here I am spicing up my writer’s life with a running goal, which hopefully would push this manuscript in progress to the next level—publication.

Any runners out there who want to join the ride? Or writers for that matter?​

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