6 months of running- How does it feel?
112 ligaments, 26 bones, 33 joints, nerves, blood vessels, and tendons work together when we run. I have been making use of all of those for the past 6 months and I have never felt better in my 25 years run as a human being. This has probably been my best year and a big contributor to my overall wellbeing has been running. Today I want to share how I got started, mistakes I made, and most importantly how I feel.
I am just a beginner
This is me after my first practice 8k run with my friend Mitch. I hated this run. You can watch me complaining on my vlog about this day.-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Cd9M9xlr00
First things first. I am no expert myself. I just started 6 months ago. That is why I believe if you are beginner you can relate to the experiences I have had. It's more easy to compare since I am still a beginner myself.
My 100 day running challenge in 2018
I did a 100 day running challenge in 2018. I quit after 11 days. I recorded my reaction after each day and kept it in my google drive.. Never uploaded these. Never will unless it adds to a story in the future 😛
I started running in February 2020. But I had a goal of becoming a runner for a long time. I tried it for 11 days in 2018 but I failed miserably. During that trial, I neither did proper research nor reached out to anyone for help. That was my very first mistake. So if you are planning to run keep in mind that research is extremely important. You need to find out more about running, about your body and the ways running will impact. Finding someone who can guide is a big help.
That initial failure lead me to research more about running, what changes I need to make in my diet to help me run and proper ways of starting to run. Initially what I realized was that sugar was a big contributor to my failure to run. I was addicted to sugar especially consuming coke. I talk about how I got over this addiction on this blog. Giving up sugar or reducing its consumption was the first step getting my body ready for running. Your diet is really important when you want to become a runner.
After I got my sugar addiction sorted I needed to get my mind ready. If you body and mind are both ready for running, then you will have a smooth transition. In order to get that mindset I started researching about runners. My initial running inspiration was Casey Neistat.
But Casey is a pro level runner. I needed to find someone more relatable. So I started searching on Facebook, Reddit and Instagram. I found some groups and communities. I started interacting in them. Slowly I started to learn about the mindset of a runner. Most runners I saw lived on running. Running made them feel alive. A lot of runners Instagrams were just full of running. I decided that I need to build a similar mindset. A mindset that can help me continue and sustain running has a lifelong hobby.
For this reason, I connected running with making vlogs. I love making videos, so I realized if I can combine the two it would make it easier for me to persevere. Thus I decided that I would vlog daily on Instagram about my February challenge of running every day for 1 hour. The final piece of the puzzle was finding someone near me to guide me threw the initial phase. My friend Mitch was kind enough to guide me. He is an experienced runner and we went on an 8km run. That was my first run ever!
Daily Instagram Vlog in February 2020
You can find my daily vlogs on IGTV. In February my whole feed was just about my runs.
It took me more than a whole year to do research, make some changes, and build a mindset to finally start running in February 2020. I ran every day for 1 hour for 27 days, covering 170km+. At the beginning, my speed was 10-11 min per km which is really really slow. But currently, I average 7-7.30 min per km which is big progress. Keep in mind that your progress with running will show in small incremental changes but when you look back you will see how far you have come.
6 months later I am still running. This is a vlog I created during a run in Miyazaki. I visited the city for one day of work. Used my morning to run and enjoy the beach.
The changes that I feel in my body and mind are really surprising to me. Reading about the benefits of running and actually feeling those are completely different things. Here's the small changes I have felt in the past 6 months
Change in Stamina
I have more stamina throughout my day. I was seldom a lazy person but being obese really dragged me down. I used to always feel exhausted after a long day and I never felt good right after waking up. But ever since starting to run my stamina and energy through the day has seen a huge boost. I get through my days easily and end the day feeling active and healthy. I look forward to my mornings every single day with a body full of energy.
Change in Breathing
Being obese I always had problems with breathing. Throughout my day if I did something that was hectic I needed to rest and take a breather. Even walking or a slight jog to catch the train got me breathing heavily. During my first week of running my breathing was crazy. I felt my heart couldn't keep up and I would drop down any second. But slowly my breathing has improved rapidly. I am still overweight but I breathe way better than in the past. i have never felt this happy just by doing something so natural.
Change in Happiness
While I researched I got to know about the correlation of running and happiness. I read about all the good hormones that flows through your body. Even though I knew about this, it felt amazing when I finally felt the effect of those hormones. Just a short run would lift my mood for the day. If I ever stress about something I just end up going on a short run. It helps so much in reducing that stress. When I am running and I get into the state of flow it ends up helping me deal with the stress. Running gives you a feeling of tremendous satisfaction. It has boosted my self confidence a lot too.
Generation of Ideas
Running has actually helped me come up with new ideas for my videos or this website. Every time I go on a run, I am alone, in the state of flow and my mind starts getting in the zone. Although my body is on the road focusing on every step my mind starts feeding me new ideas. Usually I listen to music or a podcast and I have these sudden bolts of ideas. That's why I always carry my phone with me. My google keep gets filled with those sudden ideas and they end up becoming a video or a blog post.
“Some day I won’t be able to do this. The right time is now.”
— Casey Neistat
If you are thinking about taking up running, the right is always now. Start now! I am grateful to be able to continue running so far. If you are a beginner don't hesitate to contact me. Let's grow together.