Confessions of a Newbie Runner

Image from here

Earlier this year, Luke and I made the decision to get healthy. Together. As we have spent most of our relationship getting...rather...'less healthy' together, it made sense to try and reverse some of the damage that we have caused. Also, purely selfishly, I didn't want to become one of those married couples that put on (an extra) 15kg in their first year of marriage.

I stopped my gym contract at the beginning of the year as I could count on one hand the amount of times I had been in 2013 - sound familiar? I think it was mostly a mental block on my part - it just seemed like so much effort : getting in the car, finding parking, getting changed, waiting for a treadmill...the entire process takes almost an hour, even if your work out is only 30 minutes.

So, we started jogging. From our front door, we devised little paths around our neighbourhood - we started with 1.6km at first, huffing and puffing our way around - and have now moved on to a standard 2 - 3km. We made it to a 5km fun run - which we walked / jogged / finished, but with the onset of winter and darker evenings, our running died a slow, dark death.

What I feel like when running (Image from here)

What I probably look like when running (Image from here)

I am happy to report that our 'running' (more jogging / walking / moving) is being resurrected - this week we started our 10km training plan  in preparation for the 10km Gun Run on 12 October. I've paid for our entrance : R200, in my mind, means I've committed.

Our first reintroduction jog was tough. Huffing, puffing - it wasn't pleasant. But, by the second jog, I could already feel the improvement - I could jog for a little longer without needing to walk and my muscles allowed me to move a little quicker, a little longer. I also felt something quite unexpected - happiness. The weather was lovely - cool and overcast, but not cold, it was a perfectly lazy Sunday. A great hot shower, followed by a wholesome lunch - I felt healthy. A feeling I'd been searching for, for years. 

This is how it starts.

A week of mostly-healthy eating, a little moving - nothing drastic - has also seen me lose 2kg. The small successes motivate me to keep trying - whether it's the number on the scale dropping, my clothes fitting better or jogging for a few steps longer - I'm taking everything as a victory.

Over a mere 10 days of jogging, we have taken off 1 minute 24 seconds from our time per km. I stay motivated through results - no matter how small - it's working.