3 months ago, I had enough.
- Enough of so many unsuccessful attempts to establish workout routine,
- Enough of carrying my running shoes in my luggage and not using them,
- Enough of trying to avoid looking in the mirror or being scared to be the biggest guy on a group picture
There are so many recommendations, reports, YouTube clips trying to motivate you and showing you how easy it is to get in shape. I always tried to follow the recommendations for a day or two, just to fall back to the usual routine. My work schedule wasn’t really supportive of exercising regularly. There are usually ~ 250-300 days of travel, different time zones, hotels without gym, a general overload of tasks with not enough time, and emergencies at every corner.
So, what made me change?
Actually, not much, other than following the established slogan of a sports shoe manufacturer: I just did it.
For three months now I pushed myself into a daily walking and running routine. Pushed only by my Gamin Vivofit, which reminds me to do my 15,000+ steps, and the Runkeeper App, tracking my speed and distance. Here is what I discovered:
- First and foremost, it is actually fun to go running regularly and to feel progress. The results are not spectacular and there is still room for improvement, but I got from over 7 min/km to under 6 min/km on my 10k runs.
- There is no need to target the best. Progress is primarily personal. Do it for yourself, not for the bragging rights.
- There is always time in your schedule, even in busy days. You can get up an hour earlier, skip a dinner event or get out during the day for an hour or two. It works and it is worth it.
- There is a space to run in every place. I now can recommend you running paths in cities like Lagos, Kigali, Belize, Mandalay, Warsaw and many more. This week I was able to go for a run in 4 different continents (New York, Frankfurt, Bishkek, and Tunis) – I started to discover new perspectives of the cities I visit.
As my step counter just reported that I have achieved my target 90 days in a row, I realize that I don’t want to give this up anymore. I feel in better shape, got lighter, can buckle the belt tighter, and don’t feel the need that I have to try every free lounge buffet that’s offered. I never drank a lot, but now I don’t even notice that I avoid alcohol for 3-4 weeks in a row. I also sense that I get more focused on my work routine. On the funny side, now you can see me walking up and down airport terminals and running at night in a yellow vest.
Overall, I still have some way to go, it’s just a beginning but this time I feel that I have started a change for which I was striving for many years and it seems to stick!
Leave a Reply