Inspiration minute · Better Runner

Inspiration minute

Hello everyone!

With this post I would like to share a little bit of my running story and maybe inspire someone or even dispel some prejudices about one's own running abilities.

I was a very active kid, spending every single day on my block playing football in the summer and hockey with a tennis ball and no skates in the winter. This was probably the most important thing in terms of building a physical base and training my heart muscle.

However, at the age of 16, after finishing primary school, my life took a turn for the worse. Slowly but surely, I became addicted to alcohol and nicotine, partying weekend after weekend throughout the years with no care for my health. At some point I tried stronger substances, which in my opinion left a permanent mark on my health. The lifestyle of "reckless fun" became an unchanging reality for me. From time to time I have tried to pull myself together, giving up these bad habits for a month or two, even doing some sport like jogging and weight training. But then I kept coming back to the worst choices of my life, as if I was proving to myself that everything was all right and I am still in good shape. I was always torn between accepting my weakness and hopelessness and trying to prove the opposite.

Well, it seems that my secret desire, hidden in the depths of my mind, had to come out eventually. By the time I met Ariadna, I really wanted to finally change everything in my life. By then I had almost stopped drinking, with a maximum of one party a quarter. I only smoked cigarettes occasionally with a friend or colleague. By then, she had started running again after a long break, but still lacked consistency. That's where our meeting played a big role. When we started running together, she saw great potential in me. Man, it was so hard to get back on track. Surprisingly, after more than a decade of endless intoxication, my body was working pretty well. I fought like never before.

Countless times I thought "OK, now I am going to black out and God knows if I will wake up". But it never happened. Of course, my body did not handle such a life change flawlessly. I alternated between real running workouts for a couple of months and total rest when the pain in my legs became unbearable. When you are not doing any sport, your legs are the first to dry out. Add to that a sitting lifestyle and drugs, and imagine yourself running after 10 years like this.

It took me about 7 months to get to the start line of my first race. It was a 10K SEB Autumn Run and 39'26" of total suffering. The next day I could only walk with straight legs. After three years, my leg muscles seem to have mostly adapted, as it is rarely painful and surprisingly there have been no problems with my heart at all. I can now really enjoy running and it is all thanks to Ariadna who has kept me motivated all the time and kicked my ass when motivation was not working.

Finally, guys, of course we are all different and each of us has their own life story and background. But being smart means learning from other people's mistakes. And from my mistakes I wish you learn that human capabilities really are limitless. The only limit is our mind. And as Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, said - fear is the mind killer.

I wish that you will not be afraid to push yourself for the better.

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