I’ve been running for a month and this is what has happened.

I’ve never been a fit or muscular person. I’ve always felt too slow and too clumsy to do sports, and I’ve never felt quite comfortable to do solo sports or even run. The only thing I’ve felt has been my thing is yoga. And I still love and practice yoga, but I think I might have found a new love.

A little over a month ago I asked for recommendations in a Facebook-group. I wanted to find an app that could help me get my ass out of my apartment and run. (Keep in mind I live in Sweden and we have no lockdown. Please listen to your local authorities and follow the guidelines from the health organizations.) Someone gave me the tip to download C25K - Couch to five k. And now I’ve been running with the app for a whole month, which I never thought was possible, to be honest.

What happened the first week.

I was eager to start. I felt positive and content just with the bare fact that I had downloaded the app. It was still cold so I put on a beanie and gloves and went out for my first run. And then my second and my third. Muscles in my legs, and around my waist, felt sore. I wasn’t expecting that but was happy to feel from body parts I don’t really… notice otherwise.

And after the second week.

The second week was pretty much like the first week. I still felt positive, the sun had started peeking through, and the birds started to return to my part of the world. I was consistent with my running, and I was very careful not to go ahead of myself. I was tempted to start running more frequently as I was advancing, but told myself that would be a bad idea since my body still wasn’t used to run, at all.

After three weeks of running.

When I was entering the third week of running I started having troubles. My left knee started aching and I couldn’t tell if it was a part of my body being unused to the exercise or if it was something I’ve done incorrectly. I have orthopedic soles in my shoes because my feet have caused pain in my hip and knee before, so I booked an appointment to see if there was something to be done. The soles were slightly adjusted, which I think helped, but what helped even more was the fact knowing that nothing was wrong. My knees were just trying to get used to the knew movement, I needed to strengthen them even more, and rest.

After a month running with C25K.

I’m onto my first month running regularly, and my body has started to adjust to it. I’ve also noticed I find it easier to actually go out and run even when I think I don’t want it. When it comes to my body I’ve noticed I’ve started to find that sweet spot when it’s easy to breathe even when I feel my heart rate increase. For a person that has been diagnosed with a panic disorder this is a huge success.

If you’re curious on the app just go ahead and download it. It’s free and it helped me to actually start doing something I thought I couldn’t do, and for that I’m very happy.