I am not going to talk about 5 best tips for how to start running from the very beginning. Nor am I going to talk about how I push myself to do running every morning even when it rains. The thing that I would like to talk about, is just my own story and some tips that might help you to find the right motivation. How did I get to running and what motivated me to keep running over time?
It’s now 2021. I am a 27 years old girl and I have loved running for the past 12 years. Yes, it has been part of my life for quite some time already. I started when I was around 14, maybe 15 (I don’t remember it exactly) but I was attending already the high school. We had physical classes and we used to run on a racing circuit. If I remember correctly, we had to run around for 400 meters every time in the beginning of the class. I was barely able to run 300 meters around it. I immediately started feeling a big pain on my right side and could barely breath after finishing it. A few years later, I went for a half-marathon. 🙂 and made it in 2 hours 4 minutes and 52 seconds.
How did it all happen?
How is it possible that from a distance less than 500 meters I made it to more than 21 kilometers ? Well, my strongest motivation stemmed from the feeling that I was always finishing in the last place. In 90 % of cases. No matter the distance, whether it was 400 m or a 1 km. It was always the same. True, I am very short, just around 160 cm. So logically, I cannot be expected to have a great predisposition for fast runs. But that doesn’t apply for long runs.
Long distances are way more about intrinsic motivation, self-discipline and how much you adore running activity itself. Even though I couldn´t run long distances and I was really bad at running short distances, I took it as a real challenge. I hated the feeling of how bad I was even though other gym or sports activities were no problem for me. I wanted to be able to run a full circuit first and then 8 times in a row without stopping. The hatred of my incapability to finish first runs was the real engine for me.
First runs
So after my school classes I went on my own and tried running every second day. The bad pain and coughing from running started to disappear slowly and I improved quite fast. I think that after a week I was already able to run 2 circuits, after two weeks already 5. It might have gone faster but it was autumn at that time. And I remember having problems with breathing the bloody cold air which almost stopped me every time. But then I got from my dad my first headphones with a new MP3 player. That really upgraded the whole thing to a completely new level.
Music on the way
I never thought about how music can be an important thing for me. I haven’t really liked it before. No surprise, I was still a kid. But I found out soon after trying to listen to some music that it sets the pace and makes the whole run very diverse for me. I loved both slower music for moments when I wanted to take a break the same as fast music for the time when I wanted to boost myself and reach the highest performance. Soon after, I realised that I couldn´t run without listening to my music anymore. I loved it that much that it motivated me to keep running further and further on the track.
Other benefits
I started running everywhere where I could. In the neighbourhood of our town, the same as in the countryside. I didn’t mind both paved and unpaved roads. I realised also that when I kept running in the long term, I was never ill. It has strongly helped my immune system over the years even until now.
Racing
Well, I never really liked racing and competing against others. I liked it for competing against myself. I loved the feeling that I was overcoming my laziness and kicking it into ass. I hated fat people and I admired people who were real athletes. To be honest, I have never had any issues with being overweight. But I liked to be good looking and shaped. Nevertheless, I still wanted to achieve something special. I wanted to run a whole marathon.
I never got to that point but I made it to the half marathon in 2015. Can you imagine that you start at 400 meters that you are barely able to run and you finish at a distance 50times longer? Unforgettable, outstanding, impressive, unbelievable…. Step by step you push yourself and as soon as you like to run, you extend the reachable distance beyond your own limits.
A whole marathon run?
Yeah, I have loved running for most of the time in my running history. But truth to be said, I had problems with my flat feet and my overtrained knees from the gym later on. That is the reason why I went just for a half-marathon and not the entire marathon in the end. I also went a few times for a 10km run or night run. I had my personal record in less than 53 minutes. I made it in my running shoes, the Nike Free 5.0.
To sum it up
I don’t want to boast about my running success here. The only thing that I wanted to outline was the reasons that laid behind it and that may also motivate you to start this perfectly dynamic activity. It is not just fun because of listening to music but also great fun for how dynamic it feels, fast you may become and get challenged by yourself. I will always love this sport 🙂