Self-Discipline

October 19, 2019… Cappadocia Ultra Trail race…

I ran 63.4 km, and it took me 10 hours and 9 minutes.

Of course, before this, I went through a challenging training period. I was already running in my daily life and going to the gym, but to prepare for this race, I started following a program about 5 months prior, running three days a week and doing sports for three days.

On Mondays, I used to hit the gym for strength training. On Tuesdays, I would run with my wonderful running crew, Runarchy Running Club, covering 6–10 km. Wednesdays were reserved for light weights and high-repetition powerlifting movements for endurance at the gym. Thursdays were dedicated to “HIIT” or, as it’s also known, “interval” training. Fridays were back to the gym, focusing on lighter exercises. Saturdays meant waking up at 4:30 AM for a 25–40 km run in the forest. And finally, Sundays were designated for rest…

Five months, it sounds like a breeze… Sustaining such intensity throughout that period was indeed challenging, but I managed to finish, and the feeling of accomplishment in those final meters was priceless. I had worked for months towards this moment, and completing it in good health brought immense joy. It took 10 hours, but it was my first long-distance race. I felt incredibly tired when I crossed the finish line. The organizers had rewarded finishers with a cozy polar jacket, which I promptly put on and headed to the dining area. (Oops, I meant I walked, couldn’t really run at that moment.)

How did I manage to adapt to this pace for at least 5 months? I never questioned it, just kept going without faltering, without getting bored, as if my life depended on it. How did I maintain this pace consistently, as if I weren’t working as an “Android App Developer” from 8:00 to 17:00? I hadn’t given it much thought until a friend approached me after a speech I gave at Karabük University and asked…

My Speech

Five months after the race, on March 5, 2020, Karabük University invited me to speak to Computer Science Department students. I was overjoyed. I promptly put together a captivating presentation — concise yet impactful sentences, abundant photos, and a touch of humor.

In my own way, I aimed to deliver information to students in a sincere manner, sharing what I believed they needed. More precisely, I shared thoughts that crossed my mind when I thought, “If only I had heard these things in university, I might be in a better place now.” For instance, everyone encourages self-improvement, but most of the time, no one specifies what exactly you should do… (I can’t help but mention: My supervisor at the time really liked the presentation. They were someone whose suggestions and ideas I valued. So, thank you for that.)

We should read plenty of books;

We need to open a GitHub account and store our projects and assignments there, even if they are small;

We can contribute to open-source projects…

I offered professional advice like these. Then, when I mentioned that our bodies aren’t designed for desk jobs and that I believe in the importance of exercising, I had pictures on the screen taken during Cappadocia Ultra and Uludağ Ultra. After briefly sharing those, I mentioned the months of training and concluded the presentation. I want to express my heartfelt thanks once again to those young siblings for the most precious applause of my life. Just as I was about to leave, one of the students, followed me and asked how I managed to sustain months of training, how I acquired this self-discipline. I can get to the answer after extensively explaining the starting point of my writing.

Why the delay?

Firstly, why did this article take so long? Is your support for the youth that slow? Can one wait 1.5 years for an article about self-discipline? I can imagine sweet(!) sarcastic remarks like ‘Is this your self-discipline?’ because I didn’t exactly know the answer to the question. I had been thinking for a long time — a reallyyy long time — but still couldn’t quite find it (I couldn’t give a proper answer to the friend who asked the question at that moment either. Hopefully, he read the article)

Until I couldn’t prepare for the same race, cover the same distance. Yes, you read it right. This year (for the Cappadocia Ultra race with a 63 km route to be held on October 16, 2021), I thought about preparing and running again, but I couldn’t. Why can’t I do intensive training like I did in that 5-month preparation period again? What’s the reason it seemed like the only option back then, but now I don’t feel it at all? When I tried to answer these questions, that student’s question started to be answered slowly in my mind. Your enthusiasm may remain stuck in your throat, but — as in most of my writings — there is still no short answer.

How is self-discipline gained? How is it developed?

I began to ponder the answer to this question by thinking about what was present in my life that year but is absent now. In other words, what could be the reasons for not being able to maintain the pace of those 5 months, despite being able to do it that year?

Firstly, we need to talk about the infamous pandemic that wreaked havoc on the world. We were confined to our homes for months. Everything was uncertain, even the uncertainty of whether the race would take place. (Indeed, it was canceled in 2020.) Years later, reading this article, hopefully, when we’ve long overcome Covid-19, we might say, “Oh, that was a thing that happened, right?”

Despite being vaccinated, positive numbers are on the rise again… (As of today, July 24, 2021) Well, this is a significant problem. Even when we had no desire to read a book while sitting at home, now we’re told to go out and exercise. Try going to the gym where many carriers might be. Everything is more challenging due to the pandemic, but despite that, I can still resist the lethargy inside me, wake up early some days, and go for a run or exercise away from people.

When thinking about what was easier in 2019 but harder in 2021, I remember the regular running routine I had back then. Every Tuesday was Runarchy day, every Thursday was for intervals, and 1–2 days in the gym were part of my routine even before that 5-month period. However, this year, I couldn’t stick to that routine. Despite managing to continue for a few months at times, we closed in again, and I regressed. We opened up, I resumed; we closed again, and I regressed. This cycle made it challenging to establish a consistent routine.

Aimlessness

Having both short-term and long-term goals in life is crucial. When we have a goal, we have a reason to make an effort; our morale and motivation stay positive and high. When the topic of goals comes up, there’s a Montaigne quote that everyone mentions, present in every goal-setting article online, yet not fully embraced and applied by most: “A ship without a goal cannot be aided by any wind.” We need serious goals that will whip us into action.

Having goals makes us more at ease, and we become decisive, which, in my opinion, is a wonderful thing. For instance, my yearly goal is to read 24 books. It’s clear: 2 books per month, one every two weeks. With a well-defined goal and a timeframe, I can comfortably and joyfully read. I had the same goal last year: Read 24 books annually, achieve the clear objective of finishing one book every two weeks.

Thanks to the pandemic, I couldn’t have the thought of registering for the race and saying, “Oh, the goal is clear now! Okay, I’m going, I’ve paid the 550 TL registration fee, I have to go. Let the regular training sessions begin, hooray!” Even if I somehow got the intention and registered, I wasn’t in shape. I couldn’t stick to my old sports routine, and as a newlywed, I wasn’t sure I could cover the race expenses like registration, travel, accommodation, and shoes. Plus, the race was approaching quickly. It would have been wonderful to explore Cappadocia with my (wife) Nariş and do my sport, but unfortunately, due to the reasons mentioned above and many more, I couldn’t register.

Goal setting is one of the two major answers to the question of achieving self-discipline, the main theme of this article. If you want to improve your self-discipline, you first need to set a goal and get rid of anything that would distract you from working towards that goal. Instagram, TV series, movies… During the period when I was preparing for the university entrance exam, my mom used to say, “Don’t sit and watch TV with me. I’m not the one taking the exam to build your future. Go study.” If you need to work, work. If you say you’ll work tomorrow, you won’t work tomorrow. Imagine the sense of achievement and joy you’ll experience when you reach the “finish line” of your set goal. This will provide motivation. Leave the procrastination habit behind. Stand up and take action. Now. Right now!

Friendship Circle

When thinking about what was easier in 2019 but harder in 2021, I recall my friends from that time. The friends I used to run with, go to the forest together, and constantly exchange ideas with. Unfortunately, I can see them very rarely now. Everyone you see in the photo below is from the Runarchy team — my dear and cherished friends. I’ve been distant from my running buddies from whom I’ve gained valuable information on walking form on steep slopes, how to increase walking speed, hill workouts, low-repetition longer intervals focusing on endurance rather than short-distance speed, gels, nutrition during races, and dietary habits during preparation periods… Although pandemic challenges apply to them as well, they managed to continue participating in races. I, on the other hand, fell behind.

This, on the other hand, is the other major answer to the question. The absence of sincere, wonderful friendships that would fire you up, calling on a Friday evening saying, “Alparslan, we’re meeting at 5:30 am, remember, I’ll be waiting at Çakmak Bridge. Set your alarm, get up, and please join us.” I feel like the lack of these friendships has been another significant reason why I couldn’t prepare for this race and other races this year. I remember the days when we opened the elevation map together and critiqued the races: “This hill is easy, run here. But this one is tough; not only is it difficult, but you also pass through here in the midday heat, make sure to carry extra water. Run at a 5.00 pace on this flat section, you’ll rest here anyway…”

To achieve self-discipline, to overcome personal inertia, the two reasons I’ve seen and applied are: setting a beautiful goal and having valuable friends who make you feel you’re not alone in this; friends who willingly put their hands under the stone with you, encourage you, get encouraged themselves, and become happy with you.

I want to conclude this article by mentioning my dear mother. She taught us a lot about self-discipline. Thanks to her, my sisters and I have become personally strong individuals. We’ve become individuals who persevere, accomplish what they set their minds to, aren’t afraid, and don’t shy away… I’d like you to end this article by mentioning my dear mother. She taught us a lot about self-discipline. Thanks to her, my sisters and I have become personally strong individuals. We’ve become individuals who persevere, accomplish what they set their minds to, aren’t afraid, and don’t shy away… Just like her, make sure to hang the following three words on your fridge. Don’t just hang them, internalize and apply them:

Don’t be lazy!

Don’t procrastinate!

Don’t give up!

The original version of this article is published on Medium