Running is something I started taking seriously only last year. I was on MTA for seven days and I wanted to see I can maintain a clean diet (no junk food, no fast food) and engage in exercise regularly when I'm not too stressed with work. I learned that week that it was indeed possible. So it became a habit for me, I would run at least thrice a week after work. I loved how good I felt after every run and the deep sleep that normally came after. Pretty soon, I finished my first 5K which was my first milestone and became my regular distance. I was on my way to training for 10K but then I got sick.
I got an infection that required me to be on bed rest for almost a week. I was slightly depressed because I couldn't believe I got sick at a time when I was eating healthy and exercising regularly. It took me a while to recover and needless to say, I stopped running.
I made several attempts to go back to my running habit in the months that followed but for some reason I just couldn't get back on the road. The longest I did was a 4K run at a pace that was not even close to my last 5.5K pace. With the pressure at work and the hectic schedule, I also went back to eating junk food and fastfood. No wonder I felt so bloated by the end of the year.
2016 came and like most people, I had a mental list of things to achieve this year. My theme this year is simple: Healthy Body, Peaceful Mind, Grateful Heart. For starters, I committed to a fastfood-and-junkfood-free diet. I'm on day 24 now and so far it's been going pretty well. I managed to say no to a plate of delicious french fries that was placed right in front of me earlier today. And I couldn't care less that Rustan's has a buy-1-take-1 offer for Lays Sour Cream and Onion potato chips.
The second step is exercise. Since I don't really have excess cash that I could use to take studio classes like Yoga or Pilates, I'm settling with the easiest and cheapest form of workout: running. Because the area that I live now is not as well-lit as my previous place, running after work is not much of an option. So one night, I decided to go for an early morning run the next day. I'm putting emphasis on the fact that I decided the night before because it's an effective way of making sure you get up the next day to do what you promised yourself you'd do. Right before I went to bed, I already laid out my running clothes on my window nook and even prepared my earphones and armband. It worked! The next morning, I got up and went for an early morning run for the first time in my new neighborhood. No excuses such as "oh it's late the sun is already up" or "oh I don't have enough time I'll be late for work". I really just wanted to prove a point. It turns out that running in the morning increases my productivity at work because I'm so energized afterwards. It also gives me better focus and puts me in a better mood (must be all the endorphins). So far I have managed to squeeze a quick run before work at least 3 times a week and I'm hopeful that I can make this a habit. Having said that, it's worth mentioning that I achieved a running milestone yesterday: my first 6.4K. Longest and farthest run so far according my Nike App. But I don't think that record will stay there for too long, because I'm definitely back on the road and very much committed to stay there and go the distance this time.
It's true that the most difficult part is taking the first step. For so many months I struggled to go back to the habit and I couldn't help but feel disheartened after several failed attempts. And then one day, I just decided to go out there and prove that I can still do it and I finally did. :)
