I used to hate running. As an obese kid, gym class was always something I dreaded and running was my ultimate fear. The presidential fitness testing would roll around (US schools, amazing) and the mile-run would taunt me. Middle school and high school were the worst. My PE teachers would make a big deal for kids who could run the mile between 10-15 minutes, and that was NEVER me. Instead, I’d be the one struggling to walk fast enough to finish it in 30 minutes while everyone moved on to soccer (something which I also dreaded) and my PE teachers would huff and roll their eyes that I and other kids struggling with fitness would take so long.
Even when I started losing weight and working out intentionally, I was so scared to start trying to jog. It just made me feel awful emotionally and that made the level of exertion just overwhelming. Add on a chronic illness that didn’t go into remission until a couple years ago and that made high-impact exercise painful, jogging and running were my personal hell.
I hit my goal weight in October of last year (SW: 305, GW: 150, CW: 140-150). After 6 months of maintenance, which has been hard, I started thinking more about fitness goals outside of weight loss. After lurking here and other fitness Reddits, doing some reading, and with the addition of a high-energy puppy in my life, I started slowly jogging. I didn’t even pay attention to pace or distance; I just took it super slow, working from a brisk walk and taking breaks when needed. For a long time, it was more walking and jogging intervals. But the last couple days I thought I’d try a run mapping app just for kicks.
And today, for the first time in my LIFE, I ran a mile in 15 minutes! And it wasn’t easy but it also felt good?
I’ve never really posted here, but I just wanted to tell someone and this subreddit has been a source of motivation and reassurance on both my weight loss and maintenance/fitness journeys so thank you! Life is one long journey and baby steps and kindness from others and for yourself go a long way to improving your life.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3wrQvNz
No comments:
Post a Comment