How to start to run again

I wasn’t very athletic even as a teenager. Sports were considered a distraction by my parents and they wanted me to focus more on things that can help me build my career. And just like that life happened and I got unfit physically over the years.

I decided to make changes to my lifestyle and get a little more fit. I did not want to be a bodybuilder but wanted a minimum level of fitness because that was a reasonable goal for me at that time.

So I decided to start running because that’s what I thought you do to get fit. And I failed miserably because I couldn’t run over 30 seconds and got very tired. So I started to walk instead, it helped me mentally and physically. I really enjoyed walking since it felt effortless. I started walking even more, maybe like 3-4 miles everyday. After walking for about 60 months or so, I wanted to give running a serious try.

My first attempt was to run 5 miles. I remember I was able to jog, but would stop since I felt very tired after about every few minutes. But I completed the 5 mile goal and that gave me a lot of encouragement.

Over many more months and many more tries it became a little easier. I can run about 5 miles but I take my time. I do try to speedup in between but overall my pace is comfortable.

Few things that I realized:

• Don’t push yourself too hard if you haven’t run in years, rather walk.

• Listen to your body. If you feel your knees are stressed, then it is safer to walk.

• If you want to run and can’t run without stopping, then jog. I used to jog and mimic it to run mentally and that helped me over the time to run longer distances.

• I prefer morning runs, since I don’t have much undigested food in my body and it helps.

• If you are diabetic (Type 2), then it could also be your sugar levels. High sugar levels will not help when running. But running instead helps lower, even though it feels exhausting to run with high sugar levels.

• You might not enjoy running, but after a good run, you feel great !!

Enjoy your run.