Train Yourself by Running

Has your weight risen steadily over the past few years? Do you ever wonder what happened to that slim teenager who could consume any food or beverage without gaining weight? Has “maybe tomorrow” become your mantra when you think about taking action? Or have you sadly conceded that this is who I am now and that it is impossible for you to change because of your commitments and schedule?

Let me say that you can avoid this if you make the right decisions. Nothing is simple, especially if you want to feel successful. There are many claims that if you follow this one diet or this one exercise, you will look like the picture, but these claims are untrue. I’m sorry to say that it requires patience, hard work, and above all, mental discipline.

I reached my heaviest weight of 83.5kg six years ago, and at 44, it was getting harder to lose. I searched for a good gym deal and discovered one. Just getting motivated to go was difficult for me. Yes, it was simple at first, especially after the induction when you are eager to get started, but after a few weeks I just wanted to get home from work because the mornings were so rushed. How much more did I spend before I finally decided to cancel? Are you familiar with that tale?

Why not give running a try? The Couch-to-5k app was one of the first things I learned to use to my advantage. It starts you off by alternating between running and walking until you reach the desired 5Km, which is very motivating. The amount of time spent running over walking increases with three scheduled runs per week.

The 5km Park Run, a global initiative to get people moving, is the next step. On a Saturday morning at 7 a.m., a large crowd of people of all ages, shapes, and sizes congregates at the starting line. Your progress is monitored, and later that morning, the results are released. You can monitor your personal bests and how you compare to other athletes.

The next step is to participate in a planned event after running with Park Run for a while. There are different distances to sign up for, and they are well organized. A 10km attempt at this time would be ideal. You can improve your training in accordance with the target date that you have established. Once you finish the 10 kilometers, you feel incredible.

You can enter more competitions in an effort to beat your 10km best time, but what about the half marathon? As you do these events you’ll see the half marathon runners come in and think “I can do that.” You certainly can; it is a different objective to set. You will succeed, but it will take some additional training.

Remember that the only person you are competing against is yourself, and that you didn’t travel this far just to succeed in this stage.