Hello!
Some of you might not know this, but I'm quite the sportswoman. I've been a professional swimmer for most of my pre teen/teenager years, and after that I've switched to running. This is why today I'd like to introduce a new topic on this blog: Fitness Friday! I think doing sports is one of the most important things in life, and I hope these posts can motivate you to work out a bit more as well!
Last year, when I felt like i needed to broaden my horizon and make new friends, I started running at the student's athletic group of my town. Running is the perfect thing to do when you want to clear your head, or just feel like exercising but not like going into the crowdy gym. Today I'd like to take you on a journey, since last weekend I went to the island of Texel to run a competition. It's not the typical competition, so it doesn't reflect my "normal" running experience, but I hope it does make you realize that running, or doing any other type of sport, can change your life drastically -in the good way.
So yes, Texel. Two of my teammates come from the island, so we could stay with them during the Easter weekend. The weather was lovely the day before the race, so we went to the beach and just relaxed in the sun. I see my teammates, especially the group that went to texel, as really close friends, because we all share the same passion. It's nice to be with a group of people that doesn't give you a strange look if you say you'd like to go for a run, and enjoys spending time outside. I've been part of this running team for a year now, but it feels like forever, because everyone just feels like home. I know them, they know me, and we all accept each other for the way we are. Being part of this lovely group of people has definitely made me more passionate about running, because I'm always surrounded by inspiring individuals. Running on your own is great, but running with a group is even better. You don't even realize you're doing exercise, and before you know it you've ran for 10km! If you'd like to start running, I encourage you to check out the running team near you. My team is a student's group, so everyone is around the same age/stage of life, which is really nice. Regular athletic groups have groups for different generations as well though, just ask for it and they will show you the way!
The competition was a 60km relay, but you could also do the 60km on your own, or even run the 120km ultra-race. As a relay team, we ran around the island one time, and the round was split into 4 segments of 15km. I ran the second one, a route that went through the dunes, onto the beach, and back on the dike through the dunes again. The route was amazing. The weather wasn't that great in the beginning, with a bit of rain and quite a strong headwind, but it was one of the best tracks I've ever ran. The dunes were awesome, going up and down and left and right. I was so focused on the trail that I wasn't even paying attention to the fact that I was running, which is always nice during a competition. The beach part was about 5km long, and really tiring because of the wind. I did not have a group I could run with, which normally is the case, so i had no shelter at all. This is because the guy who ran the first leg of our race is really fast, so he finished first, meaning I had to run in front, only meeting the group that started half an hour before us, and the 60k runners who started half an hour before the first relay groups. I'm not really that fast of a runner, so everyone who passed me looked like bloody speedy gonzales, leaving me to bite the dust. I couldn't help but feel determined though, because seeing all those people running the same track as you, some of them doing the 120k race, filled me with so much respect and joy, I just had to keep running.
After the beach the sun came round, which only made it better, and I had a group of 4 lovely teammates who biked next to me for a couple of minutes, shouting encouragements. I was feeling the beach part in my legs, and breathing didn't go that easy anymore, but I felt on top of the world. When my teammates left and I went back in the dunes, however, things got tricky. The wind was back again, and because of my ragged breathing my stomach got all cramped up. I tried to make it go away while continuing to run, but I couldn't get my breathing under control so I had to stop.
Stopping in a competition is one of the hardest things to do, especially in a relay. I felt defeated and useless, like i let my team down, but the people around me kept me going. Everyone who passed me told me to keep moving, to follow them, to start running again. This is the great part of sport. Everyone around you knows what you're going through, and everyone respects and supports you. The running community is great, and I bet all the other sporting communities are as well. There will always be a time when things don't go the way you plan them, either in a competition, during practice, or in your private life. It's getting through it and feeling stronger afterwards that counts, and having people around you that know this is a beautiful thing.
I finished my race a bit slower than expected, but I managed to start running again and continue till the finish line, so I did well. The rest of my team (2 amazingly fast guys) managed to run back to the front of the field again, and we finished in 4 hours and 8 minutes, taking the 7th place. Standing at the finish line and seeing the 60k and 120k runners finish, their faces elated because they made it, made me love running even more. There are so many obstacles when running, but the biggest one is your mental ability to keep going. Running isn't only about physical health, it's about mental health as well. If you don't believe in yourself, you're not going to make it. You have to have faith in your abilities, you have to be confident. And you will learn to do just that. I think that running has shaped me, not only physical, but mental as well. Running didn't only give me a stronger body, it gave me a stronger personality, and I am forever grateful because of that.
It might sound cheesy and philosophical, but I really believe that I became the person I am today -a quite confident, happy woman- because I joined this group of lovely runners. I found new friends, I found a new passion, and I found a new me. A me I really like. So yes, to make a long story short, running has brought me quite a few amazing things, and it could give those things to you as well! I'm not saying that you can't be happy when you don't sport in a group -or at all for that matter- but if you don't feel that top notch at the moment, you should maybe check out your local running club!
Do you run, or do you enjoy another sport? Tell me about it, I'd love to hear it. Next week i got another competition, this one a bit shorter than the one on Texel. It's a 5k race, and I hope to finish under 20 minutes!! I do believe I can do it, but I still have to prove it by actually doing it, haha! I will let you know how it went ;).
Stay true to who you are, I will see you soon!
Janeri xxx
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