Over the past few years I have continued to get into my personal running. I can hand on my heart say that incorporating it into my weekly routine has change my life.
When people find out that I run, they ask “what is the purpose? Are you training for an event? How can you possibly commit to do that regularly?” My reply seems to always astound them. I don’t train for an event or to race, in fact I have never competed in a race, it’s not the reason that I run, putting it simply I run for me. I get up between 5:00 and 5:15am each morning and run for me, it is my time to myself to process the day ahead and what things I might face in my work day. I have found that running enables me to be centred, grounded, and present in the current moment focusing on nothing but my breathing and the sound of my feet hitting the pavement in front of me. Putting it simply, it has helped my overall mental health and wellbeing in ways that I did not think was possible when I am made the move from the gym to the outdoors back when the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t always easy to pull on the shoes and start, there have been days I have missed – winter is especially a challenge when you’re starting and finishing in the dark and it’s either cold or raining. However, all I try to come back to is how good it feels once I complete the run. The accomplishment always out weighs the cost.
Setting goals is something that I have always liked to do, it gives me something to work towards and to finish off 2023 I have decided to set a new goal – a 90 day running challenge where I will run everyday, rather than my target of five days a week with two rest days that I have tried to do throughout the year with variable success. Starting today, will see me finish on the 30th of December – a great way to see out the year.
This morning saw my first run completed of the challenge, doing 12 kms in an hour and ten minutes. I left on my holiday circuit at 5:15am, running along the freeway before circling Lake Monger and returning. It’s not the fastest pace that I have done, with it sitting at an average pace of 5’52” per km – but it won’t be a matter of pace in this challenge. It’s about the consistency and commitment every day. I will try to write a short post each day to share any reflections and thoughts I have on the run…we’ll see how that goes.
This morning when running I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my life, the people in it and the opportunities I have. It has made me think about remembering to show gratitude and name things that I am grateful every day, I have some thinking to do as to how about I will action this…it might be through a gratitude journal each day…
Looking forward to what comes tomorrow 🙂
