Fighting Fit
The days were long and the nights were longer since my return back from Greece. I had to try and stay positive and so I thought of ways to fill my time. I started to look at the items on my bucket list, the things that I had written down on a piece of paper, lifetime achievements of mine that I dreamed of but up until now had never found the time to begin them.
I love reading and writing, two of my passions, so my first call to action was to start
this blog and put my writing skills to the test. I have recently finished a
higher education course, so writing essay’s are now second nature, but I wanted
to transfer my skills to a more creative style of writing, so feel free to let
me know how you think I am getting on! You can leave comments at the bottom of
any of my posts. I wanted to be able to inspire others to reach their goals, as
well as writing about my beloved Greece and her islands, in particular my favourite
of them all, Kefalonia.
The other thing I wanted to concentrate on was running. This
ticked a few items on my bucket list, as it meant it would enable me to get
fit, lose weight and run a marathon, something that I thought was way beyond my reach. With my running, I started off small. I had all the
encouragement in the world from the special guy in my life, and with his
knowledge from being a triathlete and marathon runner, I was in good hands. I
downloaded the NHS app – from Couch 2 5k. This is a 9 week programme aimed at getting you running from zero to 5k in 9 weeks. I am not exaggerating when I say
that I could not run for 10 seconds without being breathless before I started,
and would urge anyone to give it a go, whatever fitness level you are at.
I had attempted week 1 of the app several times in the past two years, and had never got past the first week. Each week consists of three runs with a rest day in between each run. You start by walking and then running for small intervals. I found the first week very hard, but as the weeks progressed I found I could cope better with each challenge. I concentrated on each run one at a time, and if I had a bad run, I simply repeated the challenge the next day. The thing with running is that you have good runs and bad runs, you have to take the rough with the smooth, and go with it. Don't beat yourself up after a bad run, just take it in your stride and move on to the next one. I decided to combine running with cross training, so on alternate days I would cycle or swim at the gym, or take up some group exercise such as Body Pump or Pilates. It has really helped me to focus on things, and yes we all still have bad days, I am not suggesting that exercise is a cure for everything, but the high I finished on went a long way.
My 5 weeks in the UK soon passed, and with regular Skype sessions, calls, texts and social media, we grew closer, and my love for running flourished along with my relationship. Long distance relationships can be very challenging and tough. You cannot just take a hug when you need one, and the lack of physical closeness can be a real strain on anyone, but we were both determined it was only time until we were together again. We pushed each other on to carry on training while we were apart, and although we are at different levels, it really helped having something in common that we could share and speak about - not that we are ever short of anything to say! I was really grateful for this welcome distraction though and through running and my blog I was making a new circle of friends, both here and in Kefalonia. I looked back to how my life was just six months ago, and how trapped I felt, to how amazing I was feeling now, 3 stone lighter and happily in love. Things just kept going from strength to strength for me, I was blissfully happy.
I had attempted week 1 of the app several times in the past two years, and had never got past the first week. Each week consists of three runs with a rest day in between each run. You start by walking and then running for small intervals. I found the first week very hard, but as the weeks progressed I found I could cope better with each challenge. I concentrated on each run one at a time, and if I had a bad run, I simply repeated the challenge the next day. The thing with running is that you have good runs and bad runs, you have to take the rough with the smooth, and go with it. Don't beat yourself up after a bad run, just take it in your stride and move on to the next one. I decided to combine running with cross training, so on alternate days I would cycle or swim at the gym, or take up some group exercise such as Body Pump or Pilates. It has really helped me to focus on things, and yes we all still have bad days, I am not suggesting that exercise is a cure for everything, but the high I finished on went a long way.
My 5 weeks in the UK soon passed, and with regular Skype sessions, calls, texts and social media, we grew closer, and my love for running flourished along with my relationship. Long distance relationships can be very challenging and tough. You cannot just take a hug when you need one, and the lack of physical closeness can be a real strain on anyone, but we were both determined it was only time until we were together again. We pushed each other on to carry on training while we were apart, and although we are at different levels, it really helped having something in common that we could share and speak about - not that we are ever short of anything to say! I was really grateful for this welcome distraction though and through running and my blog I was making a new circle of friends, both here and in Kefalonia. I looked back to how my life was just six months ago, and how trapped I felt, to how amazing I was feeling now, 3 stone lighter and happily in love. Things just kept going from strength to strength for me, I was blissfully happy.
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| After our first climb to Atros! xx |
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