Had you asked me if I was a runner in 2019 or earlier – I would have said something along the lines of “I am more of a swimmer or cyclist if I need to do something for fitness – I don’t think I have run further than 3km since high school”.
I don’t think I have run further than 3km since high school.
Looking back at my activity records from my old Polar watches, I mostly did 30 minute activities at my local gym maybe twice a month to maintain my status on rewards programs. The activities were usually stationary bike or treadmill runs/walks (I did not have the stamina to run, even at a slow pace, for the entire 30-minute period)
Weight gain
Over the last 15 years I have slowly become less & less active, lazier in food preparation (very little healthy or whole food) ordering takeout for many meals or eating junk in my car on my way to and from work. This resulted in me going from 70 odd kg in my middle twenties to over 90 kg before my fortieth birthday.
Just looking at those numbers didn’t mean much to me – I was not one to regularly climb on a scale – but photos taken of me when I was over 90 kg made me realise how much I had gained (on the face, neck, and stomach), I was not happy with what I saw in those photos or in the mirror.
At the end of 2019 I was beginning to look at my eating habits, I was staring to change direction.
Covid
The great pandemic gave me a very long period where I no longer needed to get in a car and drive to the office; giving me at least 40 minutes each morning and between 1 and 2 hours each afternoon; time usually spent in traffic. Being restricted to home during this period (the gyms were closed for much of 2020) the only real option for me for any sort of exercise was jogging around my suburb.
Garmin Badges
Switching from my basic Polar watch to my spouse’s old Garmin Fenix when she upgraded turned out to offer one of the best motivators I could have ever needed; Garmin Badges, awards for completing specific goals, was a great self-motivator for me. I just wanted to get all the badges I could.
Asics Runkeeper
Progress was starting to be made, I was getting out of the house, walking and jogging to get my Garmin reward badges and I began to use the additional time I previously spent in traffic to do these activities. I was starting to enjoy my time outside and just needed a little direction.
I have previously tried following those free 12-week running training plans (printed out sheets of paper) but either I lost motivation or the increase in running volume within the program was too much too soon, causing some sort of shin pain or other overuse injury.
Asics Runkeeper … got me from an occasional jogger to runner – I am a runner!
Googling running and training apps, I came across Asics Runkeeper and their My First 5K training plan. Having an app, with an actual person coaching me through each activity, motivating and guiding me- coupled with no enforced time limit (I completed the 12-week program in a little over 7 months, repeating workouts or having longer breaks between run activities) got me from an occasional jogger to runner – I am a runner!
Two years later
I have competed the My First 5K training plan as well as the My First 10K training plans within the Asics Runkeeper app (thank you Erin!). As of November 2023 I am in the 7th week of my first half-marathon training plan, with my first race in February 2024.
I can run continuously for 15km distances and further (no longer requiring walking sections during my runs, even on steep hills) and my 30-minute run now looks something like this:
As it turns out you do not have to be athletic or in shape to become a runner. All I needed was the motivation to get out the door and the time to get into the running groove. No matter what your motivation; lose a bit of weight, prove to that you can do anything you set your mind to, or just to get to see more around your local community, you too can become a runner if you are willing to take that first step.
Do you want to get more active? Do you have any stories on how you became a runner? Please let me know in the comments. Have fun and be safe out there.
Disclaimer: I am not sponsored or affiliated with Garmin or Asics Runkeeper, I am just a user that is very happy with the products and wanted to share my enthusiasm for the sport of running.
