Running, 5 Years Later.
I started running 5 years ago. It all started when a personal trainer told me that I had to do some cardio to burn the weight left over from the good college days. Gym sessions don’t really burn calories, I was told. He had me sign up for the Istanbul Half Marathon.
I followed a simple training program. It consisted of one long run every weekend before race day. Admittedly, I probably benefited from the fact that I had done many of those dreaded “Leg days”. I had strong legs/knees from the get-go.
I ran on feel, no watch or advanced data to guide me. No fancy training regimens. Just running. It was pure, and awesome. I still remember that half marathon very fondly.
Since, I have raced numerous races, from running races to triathlons where the run consisted of anywhere from 5k to a whopping 42k. While races are incredibly fun, and a great source of motivation, it’s the actual act of running, putting one foot in front of the other, repeatedly lifting the entire body off the ground, that still mesmerizes me. For me, it’s magical, and quite probably even therapeutic.
I ran a 10k race this week along Istanbul’s beautiful Bosphorus, completing it in 38 minutes, a personal best. While 38 minutes is relatively good, it was only made possible by the fact that I’ve been at this for so long. I am not talented at running. Had I had talent, I would have placed better than my personal best of second-to-last at races in high school. Oh, and I was only on the team because I actually committed to going to practice.
I never was especially talented at any skill, athletic or otherwise. The truth is, I just really enjoy running and have been doing it consistently for so long, that I have consistently gotten better at it. Even if I don’t get better at it all the time, it’s just so much fun. Anybody who consistently does anything can achieve relatively great results.
Apart from publicly confessing my passion for this universal and innate form of sport, I guess what I’m trying to say is that even if you’re not uniquely talented at something, if you enjoy it, and keep at it, you’ll simply get better at it while enjoying it even more. In my opinion, that’s pretty awesome.
