Never did I imagine myself getting into running, especially as a middle-aged man. It always seemed a bit boring to me. Cycling is what I thought I‘d inevitably venture into, especially because I love watching that sport. But here I am, roped in by a couple of friends, fully embracing the running trend. Well, kind of.
I have zero aspirations to run a marathon, or even a half for that matter. But I’m thoroughly enjoying doing short stints a couple of times a week, ranging from 5k to 8k, with a goal of consistently running 10k. Why? First and foremost for my health and cardio fitness, but also because I‘ve signed up for a 10k charity run in October that I’m determined to complete in under an hour.
It was actually late last year that I first got a bit of the so-called runner’s high. I went on a 3-week remote work trip to the beautiful island of Lanzarote, which is filled with volcanic landscapes. Well, it turns out circling some of those under the sun makes for great trail runs, which I discovered over the course of that trip. And it was a lot of fun, if not a challenging way to introduce my body to running. Anyway, I’m returning to Lanzarote for another 3-week trip in November, and I intend to pick up where I left off, but hopefully in much better cardio condition.
If you want to follow my progress, you can find me on Strava.
P.S. You’ll never catch me on a treadmill. It’s outdoors in the fresh air, invariably battling a Scottish headwind, or nothing.
P.P.S. I still much prefer rock climbing to running as a form of exercise, so you’ll still find me bouldering on plastic or real rock a couple of times a week.