Winter Running

by Claire, 2 years ago

A client of Full Circle Wellness -Maria – has shared her experience of Winter Running with us below – and shares how tough (and yet rewarding) it can be to get out of bed and continue to train for a marathon, especially during Winter! Thanks for sharing your motivation with us Maria, we’ll be there cheering for you when you smash across that finish line at the Cape Town Marathon in September!

“It’s cold this morning. I hear the light drizzle outside and I do not feel like waking up just yet. It’s another wintery Sunday in Cape Town and the best way to spend it COULD be to just stay in bed, watch movies, eating popcorn. I know though, that my conscious would slowly crawl up my spine – and because I’m a very active person, I can’t just “waste” 48 hours of weekend in my bed.

My goal this year is to run a full marathon (42.2 kilometres). A few years ago, even 5 kilometres scared me to death. It all started in 2010, when I stopped playing Water Polo and needed another sport to compensate all my unused energy. I am not a person who likes to sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day and then just go home and watch TV – I have never been like that. Cape Town offers the perfect base to get out and get active. Whatever you feel like – you can do it here. May it be sea kayaking, surfing, climbing, hiking, or running – everything and anything is possible in Cape Town.

My first run, I started off with 2 kilometres and burning lungs and legs. Back in the days I forced myself to run more than a kilometre without stopping. I have gone a long way since 2010.

I remember this one grey Winter day in 2013, where I had absolutely nothing to do. I was bored of my life and I was lonely. So I just kept on running. I ran 15 kilometres that day – my personal best at that time. I ran along the ocean, all the way from Moullie Point up until Clifton, Camps Bay and back  – this route is truly the most scenic one you will ever run along.

It never mattered to me, how fast I ran, it only mattered to me that I kept on running. Running helps me to process my daily life, it helps me to forget about my worries and solve problems  I am otherwise not able to get over. The sound of the ocean and of my own breath, the salty air and the fresh ocean breeze always calm me down instantly and the longer I run along the coast, the better I feel.

I ran my first Half Marathon last September and you should have felt what I felt. I was never as proud of myself and my accomplishment in my life. I pushed myself to a point of no return and I survived! I was still alive after 21 kilometres – unimaginable at this stage.

I have run 5 more half marathons since then and I am pushing myself this year to run a full marathon. I want to accomplish something in my life – I want to know that I am capable of reaching personal goals and overcoming personal limits. And that’s what it’s all about really. Challenging yourself. Making your life more liveable. Making yourself proud with your own achievements. It’s about not staying in bed on wintery and cold mornings on the weekends but working towards a goal in your life and eventually reaching it, just so you can reach an even bigger goal afterwards.”

Read more about Maria and her adventures in Cape Town at http://fernweh2012.wordpress.com

Article tags

cape town cold days Marathon marathon training motivation running winter running winter time

Article categories

Exercise & Fitness Tips Inspiration & Motivation Motivation Winter Motivation

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