With everyone staying quarantined at home, the need and demand for various exercises have increased drastically. Scrolling through the Internet for exercise routines, almost every single one I found relies on one key element: cardio. More specifically, running. Luckily, this is a form of outdoor activity that is considered to be relatively safe during this time. However, for most of my life, even the thought of running filled me with dread, and I know I’m not the only one. Through the years, I learned to love running, and for you to enjoy it too, I decided to share with you how I did that switch.
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My former dislike of running probably started back in high school. There, in gym class, I was introduced to the mile-run test. Growing up, I wasn’t the most active girl; it took me some time to find my sport, to enjoy exercising. The test was essentially was an entire gym class jogging at the school’s track, achieving to achieve a certain benchmark that was determined based on their age and sex. Though not meant to be a competition, it was clear that those who finished last had “failed.” As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t the most active teen, so as you probably figured out, I was among those who came last. It’s safe to say that it wasn’t the greatest feeling or memory out of running.
When I grew up and started working out a bit more, I decided to give running another chance. So, I signed up to the local gym and started running on treadmills. Even there, my bad and competitive relationship with running followed me. I was embarrassed by all the powerful weight lifters and the other runners. As this was my first time on a treadmill I soon was out of breath, having set the speed too high. However, as I looked at the speeds of the runners next to me, I saw them running with ease at speeds way higher than mine. Of course, as time progressed, I got better and faster, but still couldn’t escape the feeling I was not achieving enough.
