Adventure Pace Running

My original intention with running was almost exclusively about novelty-seeking — using it as a vehicle to explore new areas.

Chase the dopamine hits that come from combining endurance with fresh environments.

Lately, though, I’ve been starting my day by running the same loop every morning — just a single mile. It’s the same loop I use when I need a break from my screen and only have ten minutes.

At first, the monotony of this loop felt limiting. But over time, it’s revealed something deeper:

The unsustainable nature of relying on novelty-seeking alone when it comes to running — and maybe to life more broadly. That could be a whole topic in itself.

What I’ve discovered in these single-mile loops is a shift. The novelty-seeking hasn’t disappeared — it’s just turned inward.

When the external environment becomes predictable, the inner landscape begins to open up. The experience of running becomes less about where I am and more about the changing textures of mind and body — the phenomenology of movement itself.

As I’ve learned to appreciate running for its own sake — for its meditative qualities — I’ve become more attuned to the quiet transformations that happen internally. The loop stays the same, but I don’t.

So this post is for Mikey Lightning, and the vibe we shared last night about the Morning Mile — how it shifts the trajectory of your entire day.

Maybe this is an homage. A celebration of the mundane. And the deep joy that can be found in the raw phenomenology of running.