I have been looking for something fun to do outside of work, to get me out of my house, keep my mind occupied, and maybe meet new people. As you probably know, I like exercising and staying active, and I considered joining a gym but I have everything I need to work out in my house, but I do like to run. I keep thinking about getting back into running but I kinda wanted help to do that. Running alone is no fun.
So I talked to my friend who runs and, long story short, last night I went to Parque Central and met my new running coach. He coaches a lot of people so I was a little nervous going there with people who have been running for a long time.
When I got to the track, it was full of people, kids, teenagers and adults, walking, running, talking, playing soccer. Everyone was doing their own thing and no one was paying attention to what others were doing. This put me at ease because no one cared what I was doing.
Between all these people I was finally able to find the group and meet my coach. I didn’t meet anyone else because everyone has their own instructions.
My instructions were to jog four laps, but I’m going to be honest, I had to walk a little during each lap. I finished in 17:35 minutes and I was out of breath so the coach told me to walk another lap to catch my breath.
After this he told me to do four more laps, jogging on the straight parts of the stack and walking on the curves. This felt easier because I knew when to jog and when to walk. Also I hadn’t warmed up before beginning but I was warm for this part. I finished this second part in 16:09 minutes, just a little bit faster than the first four minutes.
I really enjoyed running outside again, it felt so good after spending all day inside, sitting at work. I also enjoyed just thinking about what I was doing in the moment, not worrying or thinking about anything else. It was a great distraction, just thinking about on how many laps I had left.
I also had to watch out for other people because the track was full, there were people of all ages either walking, jogging or running. Some were just talking, resting or stretching and there were some playing soccer on the grass in the middle of the track. I was a little scared when I noticed there were so many people because sometimes big crowds make me a little nervous, yet I was able to block all that out and stay focused on what I was doing. That is a very difficult thing for me to do and I don’t know how I did it but I’m proud of myself for not freaking out. I was also surprised at the amount of people there last night. It was a good time to be outside because the sun was down so it wasn’t that hot anymore.
Today I woke up really tired and my legs hurt all day and I was really tired. I only jogged and walked for less than an hour but I’m going to have to get used to this as it will slowly start getting more intense. I am a little nervous and a little excited about what’s coming because I can see what people have achieved with his training and I also know what I have been able to accomplish when I want to do something. I’m ready to add another thing to the list!
Unstoppable María 