On My way to become a runner.

My sporting background
I have not discovered my sporting talent and have not really taken any sporting code seriously beyond the compulsory school athletic programme. Therefore my sporting prowess is hidden and my physical sports participation is null. What occupied my time for the longest period, which is kilometres away from sport, has been watching TV, indulging in all the unhealthy habits such as eating too much bad food and sleeping long hours.
I would ponder on the idea of jogging as an alternative to sport but my pessimistic self would tell me that it is not a popular sport and it is by no means competitive and or interesting. Nonetheless I have always thought to myself that Instead of continuing with my sleep or getting lazy watching sometimes boring TV programmes, I could go run. After all, the tiredness I could get from running would be a pleasant reward for someone who needs to earn a rest or deserves a good one.
I have always enjoyed jogging ever since 1997 when I was a student at tertiary. But my joggings were abrupt, spontaneous and random. I didn’t have a plan and a goal around this activity. One morning when I felt bored I would wake up and run 3 km and one month later I would run 2,5km. This became a wasted effort and didn’t add up to anything meaningful. Though I didn’t loose wait, gain muscles or improve health, I would go back to jog whenever I could.
The beginning of seriousness
In April 2015 I changed my attitude to jogging and vowed to make something out of it. I planned my running diligently. I committed myself to run as frequent as three times a week: Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. I measured the distance to run before the actual run. And I downloaded an application to assist me to keep track of my performance of each running session. At the beginning, challenges can be discouraging. In the next paragraph I will share a few challenges and what to do to overcome them.
• Challenge: Motivation
To stay motivated is a big challenge as there could be many distractions especially at the beginning of the programme when the feeling of staying between the sheets and watching TV is still familiar.
• Solution:
o I kept on reminding myself of the goal which was not to run a marathon but to have fun and see what benefit it will bring. I would think about the irreplaceable fun I was missing by staying away from running.
• Challenge: Personal trainer
There’s no personal trainer to provide advice of what and how to run. I am on my own and this was a chance for me to learn by myself at the pace that suits me.
• Solution:
o I read a lot of Online tips and magazines articles from running fanatics. I am a loner or private person so I didn’t think of joining a running club but I think it could be valuable for motivation and knowledge sharing with like-minded people.
• Challenge: Lack of proper apparel
At the beginning of this hobby or activity I discovered that I need running shoes and proper clothes such as reflective vest for evening running and long sleeve shirts for cold days. All these are important for my safety and comfort.
• Solution
o I had to make a small investment in apparel and accessories such as earphones, water bottle and gadgets to track performance. This is very helpful to improve, set goals and avoid injuries.

A Month Later
A month later I was comfortably and consistently running a 5-6 km without pain. At this stage I was getting in to grips with running and was motivated to keep going back to it because of the satisfaction that it was giving my body, mind and soul. Jogging makes me feel like I was doing something worthwhile with my life. It gave me a sense of fulfilment and some sort of purpose. Let me reserve this topic for my next post on what running means to me.
One Saturday morning I aimed to increase the distance to 7kms but I was taken over and just kept on enjoying the running and I completed 9.40 kms. I soon realised that a 10km distance was well within my reach. I was motivated to complete a 10 km running session but before I could do it I picked up an injury that lasted a whole month.
After the recovery period I quickly regained my strength and was running between 9-11 Kms. This has boosted my confidence as a beginner runner and I kept on sharing my story with friends and one of them encouraged me to join a race. That’s when I joined a 10km race.
Caught by the Bug.
I was not happy with just running a session, I became obsessed with breaking my record and setting a new record. I was chasing my own targets every time I went for a run. I started with an average of 7,47 minutes per kilometre, this average would vary between that and 10.16 minutes per kilometre. My best record in terms of time was 6,43 minutes per kilometre. My longest distance is 16.34 kilometres. I realise that there is no limit to my running , I can go as far and fast as I want to. This is a life changing experience of which no activity has never made me feel.
Feeling like a runner
I used to think of runners as a special breed of tough bodied people who have a will of steel. Well there’s some truth to that but anyone with the right attitude can become a runner by their own standards. Anybody can set their own pace, goals and commitment and go for it.
It doesn’t take too much trouble to run or feel like a runner. It is a matter of committing to a simple programme that it is manageable to you.
My next post is what does running mean to me. I hope it will