I finally started running!

So, yesterday was a good day. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep but that day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a run. Or so, I would like to say, but I’ve been wanting to go running for ages now. I’ve been wanting to do more sports in general and build up my stamina and especially with the pandemic going on, I’ve been really getting out of shape in the worst way possible. My knees hurt, I’m out of breath quickly and I’m just not in shape… which is bad for a 22-year-old, right? So, sports it is!

The hardest part though, as always, is getting started and, you might have guessed it, this is where I quote Erich Kästner who once said “Es gibt nichts Gutes außer man tut es”. Getting started is the first step. If you don’t give it a go, you won’t know if it’s good… or you miss 100% of all the shots that you do not take! Hence, I basically just went for it yesterday. I got up, brushed my teeth, filled a water bottle, got dressed, and went to a nearby park at 6 AM and went running until 8 AM. Now, while that may sound good… I also was out of breath really quickly and had to take a lot of breaks. BUT I did it. And it doesn’t matter how much, how fast or how long I ran. It doesn’t matter how good today was in terms of goals or anything because I (and this is my other life motto) “expected nothing and appreciated everything”. This may sound pessimistic but since pessimists are the true optimists, I essentially can never get disappointed… or so I’d like to think. Either way, I went in with the mindset of just winging it and why it may not have been optimal, it was a good first step… and a second one… and a third one… See what I did there?

Now, the actual second step is to turn this into a routine. I need to get up early tomorrow and go for it again and I may go running every other day maybe… or I may end up setting a specific goal for each week and then I’ll try to achieve or surpass that goal. The key is here to not overdo it but rather just stay consistent and make it a routine of sorts. When it’s raining or when I’m feeling too anxious to leave the house (again), I can switch to some normal workout at home using situps, weights, and all of that. I also plan on going swimming again because I haven’t done so in ages. It’d be amazing probably overall.

Also, I’ll have to actually work on how I run and stuff. I have a walking error that is making it a bit hard for me overall to run, walk, jog or whatever if that makes sense. I mean, I’m sure the department for silly walking would appreciate it but I’ll have to try out different techniques there or different exercises, variations and that sort of stuff. On top of that, I may have to warm up better and do even more stretches than yesterday while also wearing lighter clothes even if it’s cold. I’ll get warm either way, so wearing more clothes is counterproductive, I think. I’ll look up some guides or advice once I made it my routine to work out frequently if that makes sense. The beginning is hard but I’ll get there eventually hopefully.

So, overall, I’m proud of myself for actually going for a run yesterday and I plan on doing more of that in the near future to hopefully build up some strength, stamina, and just be healthy, if that makes sense. Day 1 is good but doesn’t matter if there is no day 2. I’ll try to make it last longer with routines and stuff. Maybe I’ll try doing it in the evening instead of the mornings, as well, just to get a feel of how I like that or whether or not it may be better to do sports for me in the evening to get tired before bed or whether I want to start the day off with a workout session into a shower into the day. Both could be good solutions, to be honest. I’ll see. And well, weighs might be cool eventually but before that, I’ll need to build up my arm strength first with planks, situps, and the like… and then I’ll try weighs and swimming and stuff… and my end goal is probably to be at a point where I can keep going for at least an hour without a break. Luckily, the city I live in has a park nearby that should be optimal, especially with the nearby hills, some steeper areas and some slopes, stairs and other things that I could use.

I was dying yesterday but I still enjoyed myself especially because of how taxing and challenging it was for me. That was part of the reason why I enjoyed Kendo so much: The Warm-Up would kill me, especially in the summer, and our sensei would constantly demand more and more of us, resulting in us getting worn out before the actual training even began. While that was really difficult for me overall, I had this sense of fulfilment in a way from the exhaustion after successful training. The bruises were not so cool but other than that, it was exhausting and draining and challenging but the improvement over time really worked for me. Not to mention that it can be a great vent to get rid of frustration, stress, and even anger (not that I’m ever really angry at anyone)… Man, I really want to get back into martial arts again but for now, I’ll work on solo training and do my hardest to keep at it!

Have you been working out or keeping yourself active nowadays? I know that a lot of bloggers had their streaks on Twitter a while ago and it lowkey motivated me but I would never actually do it, so I kinda wanna do that now and have my own streak going! Yoga-mat, weights and running shoes included! I’m honestly really excited about this! If you have any tips or advice, feel free to let me know!

Cheers!

This post was first published on Indiecator by Dan Indiecator aka MagiWasTaken. If you like what you see here and want to see more, you can check me out on Twitch and YouTube as well.