Fundraiser workout #1: Patience and progress

As some of you already know, I am planning on running a personal half-marathon in October to raise money for a mental health charity (Mind). Being a fresh graduate, I am definitely enjoying the freedom and flexibility of working on my health.

My sleep habits are getting back on track again: no more staying up till 2 AM due to insomnia, and a regular wake-up time of 9AM truly makes me feel properly energised again. This leaves plenty of time to exercise. Today, I joined my sister in her 10-minute high-intensity workout, did some stretching (eventual goal: let's hit those splits!) and went on a short run.

Initially I was planning on running 3km, but at 0.7 km my ankle started to act up, so I had to quit pushing my boundaries. By the looks of it, I might need another month of ankle-strengthening exercises until I can run like I used to again.

It is somewhat frustrating, knowing I can barely do 2 km runs these days when I used to be able to run 10 km without a sweat. However, running has always been about the process to me rather than the results. What I love about running is that it teaches me a lot about perseverance. No matter how hard life gets, I have always been strong enough to push through. Sometimes I could even push further: setting an initial running goal of 7km would then turn into 10km... at one point it went up to 12 km, 15 km, 18km, and finally 21km. It shows how powerful determination can be.

At the same time, running is about self-awareness and loving yourself. Sometimes I'd set a 10km goal but realise that my body isn't up for pushing my limits. During these times I was able to be kind to myself and quit running before my initial goal. That's also what happened today. My ankle wasn't ready for that 3km yet, but that's okay, I've got more than 4 months to get back to a 21km distance.

Today didn't hold me back, it rather made me excited about working on myself more so I can get back to being my usual self. It helps that my environment is very supportive of my endeavours. I am amazed at the growth of my fundraiser. Only 1.5 days later and I am already at 30% of my goal!

Many thanks to everyone who has supported me so far. I wish I could run my half-marathon by the end of this month already, but it's important to be kind to my body. So until then, I'll just have to keep doing low-intensity activities.



P.S.: For those who are wondering what happened to my ankle... I went indoor rock climbing in March and fell from a 5m height, landing quite awfully on one foot. It was all swollen and purple for quite a while, I only started walking 'normally' again in April, but my ankle tendon is probably still torn.