30 minutes
‘Seven minutes is a long time’.
Those were the words uttered recently by one of my running buddies, Emmanuelle.
We were doing a few backyard ultra loops (https://runur.run/blogs/news/15-hours) together
and were in between runs.
We had a 12-minute turn around before going out again.
Working efficiently and at speed, we’d managed to take care of everything so were resting a
little.
When you’re clock watching it’s true - seven minutes IS a long time. Therefore it stands to
reason that so is 30.
Think about it. 30 minutes is actually a VERY long time when you want it to be.
We can all find 30 minutes in our day.
It might take a little be of planning and reorganization, but it’s totally doable.
Yes, yes, yes our days are busy and are packed full of obligations and other important things that
need taking care of, but I guarantee that in a 24-hour period of 1,440 minutes we can all set
aside 30 of them for health reasons. We just have to convince ourselves that we WANT to. That
has to come from us, from within.
Now I’m not a doctor, but I do know that any doctor worth their salt will tell you that moving for
30 minutes a day is beneficial to your health.
That could be walking, running, swimming, weight training, playing rugby, soccer, anything.
The list is literally endless and I challenge you to find YOUR 30 minutes.
Moving for 30 minutes a day can boost muscle mass, improve endurance, increase bone
strength, and it’s good cardio.
Daily physical activity doesn’t have to be long or stressful to improve your overall wellbeing, and
it should be enjoyable.
That said, most of us train longer than 30 minutes and frequently however, that’s usually for
specific events rather than to maintain where we are.
Instead of jumping into that, if you’re coming back from injury, are trying to lose a few pounds,
or actually do want to maintain where you are healthwise, then simply walking for those 30
minutes - THAT YOU CAN FIND IF YOU WANT TO - will do the trick.
If you don’t want to be alone, you could buddy up with a friend or two or join a club. There’s
plenty of options.
It might even become part of your social life and motivate you further.

Still need convincing? Still pushed for time?
You could split the 30 minutes into 2 x 15 mins or 3 x 10 mins depending on how your day is
going.
However you decide to find your 30 minutes, It’s all good and you’ll use a similar amount of
energy overall regardless.
Eventually the 30 minute activity will become easier. Trust me, it will if you do it often enough,
and when it does it’s time to increase the intensity.
If it’s walking you’re doing, try this when you’re ready :
Walking with light weights, walk some hills, increase speed a little, go longer.
Individually or a combination of those work.
Do what’s convient for you. But I challenge you to do it!
Time to find those comfy running or walking shoes and get moving.
On my side, training for the 2023 Quebec Mega Trail 160 km (https://ultratrailcanada.com) and
the Big Wolf’s Backyard Ultra (https://www.bigwolfsbackyardultra.ca) are going as planned.
June 30 and July 15 respectively are coming soon.
Running activities in May included :
Some fun long distance training sessions in the mountains with friends (mind the bears)
Road running
Pace bunny for the 10km distance as part of the Lévis Half-Marathon weekend (volunteer)
(https://www.jecoursqc.com/demi-marathon-levis/epreuves)
Trail Coureur des Bois de Duchesnay – 34km course closer (volunteer)
(https://www.jecoursqc.com/trail-coureur-des-bois/epreuves)
Défi Cap-Blanc (https://motivactionjeunesse.com/evenements/capblanc)
12-hour night run
Whatever your sporting goals are this summer season, keep at it, keep going and happy running
(and/or walking).
30 minutes. Let’s Go!
Andrew
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