I'm finally running again
Ok, I wouldn't say I'm exactly running again. The correct thing to say is that I went out for a run yesterday, a very short run, but it's a reason to celebrate nonetheless. After years of being a couch potato, of saying stuff like "I'll start running again once the weather gets warmer", I just did it.
Here's how it happened. I am generally sedentary due to my job, and I don't really have an active life outside of work. I love reading, and I do a lot of that (books, comics, blog posts...), but that means either lying down or sitting for hours, and now that I'm in my thirties I reckon I can't simply do that for long stretches of time; even if it doesn't feel bad in the moment, I know it will in the long run.
I was feeling quite dissatisfied yesterday afternoon. I wanted to do something real, something tangible, and not stay at home reading or playing video games. So put my running shorts on, went downstairs and followed a 10 minute stretching routine, then simply went out and... ran. I did it for a very short time, way too conscious of my abilities at the moment. Back in 2020, I could run for 40 uninterrupted minutes. I would run four times a week or more, and in a time where everything felt uncertain, it kind of saved me. But then life happened, I got complacent with myself, and now I'm terribly out of shape. I knew I couldn't run for 10 minutes straight now, let alone 40, so I simply did what felt comfortable in the moment. In the end, I stayed out for 20 minutes, with a lot of walking interspersed. I had electronic music in my headphones—I was listening to a very frutiger aero album, which somehow made the green grass look even more green and the blue sky seem more blue. Not to mention the lovely, syncopated rhythm of the music, which really helped me keep a nice pace. One thing I noticed is that my back seemed to naturally straighten during and after my very short run—I could totally feel the difference! That was quite surprising.
Running again didn't feel monumental, and I didn't need it to. It felt like a start, finally, and now I have something to build a running practice upon. My goal for my next run is to simply run a bit longer, even if it's a few meters. I don't want to become a pro, I simply want to enjoy the process and the sun, reconnect with nature, and maybe get a few of the health rewards along the way. I'll try to go again tomorrow, and I'm already thinking of a few friendly strategies to implement.