I hate running. And there’s really only one thing I hate more than running, and that’s other people being right about a thing that I’ve purposefully ignored and that’s what I’m going to tell you about.

See, I have a white collar job and my back and waistline are really unhappy with how little I move. So I’ve been doing a lot of walking and I’m down 35 pounds. It’s been great! But, I felt like maybe I should try to do some exercise that raises my heart rate — ya know, I’m in that moment where I’m feeling motivated! Go me! — and running has a low barrier to entry. It’s basically just walking, but faster, right?

Great. So I guess I’m going to run. Even though I hate running. And it’s miserable every single time. Whatever, I got this.

So of course I’m the type of person who can’t do anything without watching 100 YouTube videos about the topic, so I watch all these videos on “How to get started running,” blah blah blah. And I come across a piece of advice that I’ve heard before and always sort of scoffed at a bit. One of those “sure, I get it, but I’m not going to do that” type of situations. Not that I thought it was bad, just…not for me! I’m a grown adult who can make my own decisions! Well, turns out that people who do a certain task often and are passionate experts at their craft probably know a thing or two about what to do. And ya know what? The runners were right.

So here’s the piece of advice: slow down. Run at a pace where you can hold a comfortable conversation while moving. And even then, maybe still slow down a little bit more!

And damnit, they were right and it’s totally working for me. I’ve run 3 miles no problem, multiple days in a row. Are these miles fast? No. Painfully slow. Does that mean I probably need to work on my ego? Yes, but don’t tell anyone, least of all me.

So, yeah, I still hate running, but maybe give slowing down a try and it could be less miserable.