Do run, run, run
Today I ran 2.5km.
A few years ago I wouldn't have wanted to post that. 2.5km is so lame! And I'm not going to pretend that I did it in some kind of super-fast speed either. I'll be upfront - it was an average of 6 minutes 23 seconds per km. Perhaps I'd be better off describing it as a gentle jog...
But I got out there, nonetheless. And 2.5km is not lame. Not for someone who hasn't ran properly for years. Not for someone who, for months, has had very little energy (for no medical reason I might add, I just simply fell out of the habit of moving).
So, in order to get back into the habit, I've decided to change my running goals. I am going to attempt to run often. And I am going to attempt to run further. But my ultimate goal is this - I'm going to run until I find that mystical, much-coveted place that few lucky people discover. The nirvana of running. The key to running success.
I'm going to run until I start to enjoy it again!
I used to love it. I'd look forward to it. I'd run in any weather. I'd run with music. Without music to hear the birds sing and the trees rustle. I'd try new routes. Find new circuits. It was fun.
I want running to be fun again.
The funny thing is, this wasn't, initially, my aim. Initially, the thing that got me off the sofa this time was the desire to get a sticker on our Active August chart in the staff kitchen at work. The sticker was the thing that got me up half an hour earlier in a morning to run just 1 measly mile. Just one teensy little jog to get those stickers.
But I found so much more. Most mornings, I'd spy a little bunny in the field near my house. And I'd feel so much happier heading into work knowing I'd done a little something to be proud of that day. And now, I've got it up to 2.5km. Maybe tomorrow it will be a little bit more?
I guess the point of this post is to be proud of myself for making a positive change - no matter how small. Because change always has potential. And the other reason for writing this is because it's funny sometimes what your motivation can be. We are all different. The idea of getting lazy and lethargic only makes me feel worse about myself and less likely to do anything. I need positive motivations. And thankfully, the health and wellbeing team at NGI found the perfect motivation for me.
I was always proud as punch if I got sent to the headmaster's office for a scratch and sniff sticker of a banana or a strawberry at junior school. And it seems, as an adult, little has changed.