What the hell effect | 5 mile Turkey Trot

There is a phenomena known as the “What the hell effect.” In short, after incorporating kettlebells into your exercise regimen there are mysterious improvements that people notice in other areas of their physical fitness.

Most recently, I experienced this in the Turkey Trot hosted by the Prospect Park Track Club in Brooklyn, NY. Usually I think of a turkey trot as a 5K, however this was a 5 miler. Small detail, big difference.

I am not a runner. I’m not a big fan of running. I usually get to the “Why am I doing this?” point relatively quickly when I do go for a run.

Around mile 3, while going uphill, I definitely had the thought, “Why am I doing things that I don’t like to do?” This thought was on loop till mile 4. From there to the finish line I just wanted to keep going and not stop.

I finished. I got a cool hat and a medal. Still not a big fan of running.

All that said, I was impressed that I completed the 5 mile run, never stopped, and did it at a modest pace. … with ZERO running preparation. No practice runs, no ramping, just my morning kettlebell routine. It was wild to see what I was doing in one area of life, pay dividends in another area.