Blog #31 - How I Learned To Love Running
Since leaving Albany and moving to Perth, my fitness habits have been pretty inconsistent. In the year after graduating high school when I still lived at home, I had a super consistent gym routine. I would go 5 days a week, often at the same time each day. I was proud of this habit and happy with the results. I believe the two biggest reasons for my consistency were that I was enjoying it and that I really strived to maintain that habit even when it was not super convenient. I remember on one occasion having such a busy day but still finding the time to go in for a 15-minute set.
Some of me knew I had to keep that habit going no matter what. Over the next year, I moved to Perth and began University. The less flexible hours offered by my on-campus gym were one of the first things that started making it difficult to maintain the habit. As my lifestyle changed and I started seeing fewer results I eventually stopped.
I went to Revo at one point but once again was inconsistent. Halfway through the year, I joined my local gym with a friend which was nice but also didn't last too long. It had reached a point where I was only going to the gym to either recapture my former habit or for social reasons. This is all fine but I've come to realise that I do need physical exercise most days in order to be in a good mental state.
I've changed my mindset to fitness now. It is less about putting pressure on myself to do a workout and more about finding a fun way to break a sweat. Running is something I would have never imagined myself doing. Ever since I started going to the gym I stated that I hated cardio and much preferred weights. I now love cardio. It still puffs me out like crazy but now that's why I love it.
Ever since leaving school the amount I was running had dropped a lot. Like I said I had a preference for the weights. Recently though running has gained in popularity, especially on social media. If you're in your 20s you've probably seen all the running propaganda online. It was enough to get me to try running and I realised that the exhaustion and agony leave you feeling amazing. I now understood the saying "Runners High". You really do leave the experience feeling happier, lifted and ready for the day.
I began running daily and for almost 2 weeks was loving it with 1 day off a week. Unfortunately though the sneakers I had been running in and the path I chose to run on ended up causing me a lot of knee pain. Enough to stop me from running, the pain was really bad and the injury itself started affecting me outside of just my runs. For a month or so I completely stopped the running but knew I needed something to get me moving. I began thinking of solutions when I realised. I live really close to a grass dog oval, this has to be better for my knees. I also decided to change my shoes up, the converses are still no running shoes but they do a lot better than the Adidas I was wearing.
The oval has been great. It is much better on my legs and knees and I'm back into the habit. Finding something enjoyable and accessible is the real battle when it comes to finding a fitness habit that will stick. Running is now a consistent part of my morning routine and I'm so glad. I will take weekends off but on weekdays I'm at that oval around 7 am running.
So far I've found that being understanding and going easy on myself has been a huge help. When I begin to feel any pain that might cause issues I slow down. I do not beat myself up for missing a day and because of that, I miss fewer days. I just like many others have fallen into the trap of hyping myself up for a new workout routine only to give up. I genuinely believe that simply framing running as a part of my morning routine and still showing up regardless of missing a day or not feeling 100% has helped immensely.
Do you find that you need fitness in your life to be your best self? What type of fitness do you enjoy? Also if you have any tips yourself on building a sustainable workout routine please let me know. Thanks for reading and have a great day.
