I Ran For Five Minutes For One Week And This Is What Happened

I know what you’re thinking. “Lorin, why are you even writing a blog post about this? Who cares if you ran for five minutes? Come back to me when you can run for 30 minutes or an hour.”

But what if I told you that after running for five minutes everyday for a week, I am now able to run for a mile and a half just two weeks later?! That’s crazy progress, right?

Keep reading to find out how I did it!

My Starting Point

I loathe running, and have hated it ever since I can remember. I literally have nightmares that I am back in high school lining up for the pacer test. 

If you don’t know what that is, it is a test that is supposed to test your aerobic endurance. You start on one end of the gym, and you have to run to the other side before you hear a “beep” played on the track. 

Even though I don’t like running, I do love other forms of exercise! Dancing, swimming, yoga, you name it!

 Unfortunately, since having my son, I really hadn’t been getting much exercise in. 

I don’t use a scale, but I could see that my body has changed. It’s much softer with a lot more to hug. This didn’t bother me at all. 

However, what did bother me was my lack of energy. After work I would come home absolutely drained (despite sitting at a desk all day). 

My son is just learning how to walk. Despite this milestone being so big and exciting, I had no interest in chasing after him. 

I would just watch him from the couch, which wasn’t at all how I envisioned myself as a parent. 

I knew that things had to change.

If You Hate Running, Why Did You Force Yourself To Run?

I chose running as my form of exercise because it was free and relatively easy to fit into my schedule. 

I didn’t have to buy any new equipment, or go out and get a gym membership. I also just purchased a treadmill, so I’d be able to use that as training on rainy or cold days. 

Basically, I chose running because there weren’t any excuses I could give myself not to do it. I had everything I needed to start right away. 

But Why 5 Minutes?

I used to workout very often. But, after not exercising for over a year, I had no idea what my fitness level was. 

I also like to set realistic goals. I didn’t know initially how much time in my schedule I had, but I knew it had to be at least five minutes. 

For inspiration, I went on tiktok and searched “running for beginners”. There were a lot of motivational videos that said to just start, even if it’s only for five minutes. So I knew I was on the right track here!

The Training Plan

My goal was to run for five minutes everyday for 7 days straight. I didn’t restrict myself on the time I had to complete this. So long as I got it done for the day, it didn’t matter to me what time I checked it off my list. 

After the week is over, I could reevaluate and determine if I want to keep running or change exercises. 

Days 1-3

Honestly, day one was really hard. I wasn’t jogging fast by any means, but by the end of it I thought I was going to pass out. 

Days 2 and 3 were better, but I was still quite tired after my run. Mind you, I was running at a 17 mile per hour pace. Like, really slow!

Days 4-6

Day 4 was when I finally had a breakthrough and didn’t feel tired after my run. I felt that boost of energy that I was looking for, and even took my son to the park on this day!

On day 5, I came up with another reason I didn’t like running-it’s honestly kind of boring to me. My music taste seems to not fit running at all, and it just kind of felt monotonous. 

I wanted to switch things up for day 6 and listen to a new podcast. Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” came highly recommended, so I decided to give it a listen. The five minutes on this day passed so quickly!

Day 7

This was the last day of my personal challenge and after accomplishing the five minutes I honestly felt amazing. 

I know it was only five minutes, but when you add it up, that is 35 minutes of additional exercise for the week that I didn’t do the previous week!

Did I Lose Weight?

I know this is the burning question that everyone wants to know. 

Unfortunately, because I didn’t weigh myself before, I can’t really answer that now. 

I didn’t notice a significant difference in how my clothes fit. So I don’t think I lost weight. But that wasn’t my intention anyway. 

Non-Scale Victories

After a week of running, my energy levels went up tremendously. 

Since most of my runs were during my lunch break at work, I also felt a difference in my work productivity. Usually by 2:30-3:00PM, my brain would get very foggy and I would slow down. 

BUT during this week, everything seemed to be much clearer. I was very surprised how much five minutes could impact my day. 

Am I Going To Keep Running?

Once I finished running five minutes a week, I went on to do six minutes. After that week was over, I went on to seven minutes. 

Now three weeks later I am able to run a full 30 minutes without stopping! 

More importantly, I don’t want to die during the run. I am finally feeling like I am able to enjoy the process. 

I guess this is what they’re referring to by “runner’s high”.

Next stop 5K?

Conclusion

I am very glad that I pushed myself to be open enough to do an exercise I was uncomfortable with. I encourage you to do the same if you’re able to. 

You may just surprise yourself!

*Note: normally I allow comments, but the spam comments have been insane recently. In the meantime, please feel free to email me at [email protected]!