Keeping fit when the gyms are shut

I miss those days of running in great Uniben, when runners would encourage one another with two hand claps as we passed one another on the roads/paths. And if you ran the same circuit and time, you soon started to form a community.

Early in the pandemic, I saw the lockdown coming. I decided running would be my new form of exercise as I knew the gyms would be shut. To give myself the best chance, I did two things:

1. I got fitted for a pair of running shoes. I have flat feet.

2. I downloaded the NHS couch to 5k app. I hadn’t run in almost ten years.

It’s amazing how one thinks they’re fit but when you do another form of exercise you’re not used to, the body protests. I think it was week 3 that my lungs finally accepted that they wouldn’t burst regardless of how much it felt that way, and my shins that they wouldn’t snap and crumble under me.

I’m now two thirds of the way through the programme and loving it. I’ve put it out here now so you all are now my accountability partners. I must finish this programme and when normal sets in, I will do a charity run. And you all must donate or else!

2022 Update: I completed the programme, did the charity run, and continue to enjoy running.