When I ran my first marathon race (26.2 miles), I didn’t get there going from sitting on the couch one day to running a full marathon the next day.

Nope, it took time, training, and a program called the couch to 5k. With this program, we ran only as far as our bodies physically could allow us to (about 90 seconds when you’re just getting started), and then you would walk for 30 seconds. The theory behind the program was that our bodies could not go from no activity, hence the “couch” in the statement, to a full 5k (or 3 miles).

What I have realized with this spending freeze, is it feels very similar to the couch to 5k program. As much as I want to go a full 365 days without spending money on anything, there are just some things that get me.

For me, it’s homegoods. I shouldn’t have even walked inside a homegoods store today, but I did, and I bought some candlesticks and salt and pepper shakers.

It felt good just to get something small for myself. That’s when I realized, it felt similar to those small breathes of air during the couch to 5k program.

So I thank God that I am a runner, and I know that I can only push myself so far.

That’s when I realized the perfect pace to set for the spending freeze was 15 days. I will go for 15 days at a time, then have 1 day unfrozen before going back to the freeze for 15 more days.

I am going to try this pace for as long as I feasibly can.