Running experiment: not for me.

In september, I joined a special training programme for not-very-sporty-people who wanted to start jogging. The aim was to start from zero and progressively develop our muscles and endurance to end up running 10 kms after 3 months of training. I hugely enjoyed the group atmosphere: it was refreshing to meet new people and the trainer was charming. It was also fun to go back to a school-type activity where you are taken in charge and actually trained: warm-ups, personalised attention (I was made to buy firmer running shoes as I step "inward" when I run), and timed spans of walking, "trotting" and running.

When I applied for this training, I was asked whether I had run in the past, and I said that I had run a little and played a number of sports (this, in fact, was more than ten years ago, but I forgot to mention this detail). The organisers somehow got the impression that I was very sporty and were afraid I might be disappointed at the low level. Ha! Most people in my group were older (I am 38) and much fitter than I, and had run marathons in the past (wow!). The first 2 minute run was rather humiliating for me. I was exhausted at the end of it...

And so the weeks passed and I persevered, enjoying more the social aspect than the physical part. The longer the runs, the more the distance between my fellow runners and I grew. I was bitterly reminded of my poor performance in long-distance runs at school. It wasn't only as if my heart were about to explode, my knees were also extremely painful. So I eventually gave up: it is not cowardly to admit that our bodies are simply not made for a certain activity. I am much better at fast sports where short distances have to be covered very rapidly, such as badminton or squash.

I thought that running might help me to lose weight, but although this has probably worked for many people, it simply does not work for me. I have to move and keep very active, but I think it is a bad idea to create muscle when you are trying to lose body mass. First I will lose the weight through a strict diet. Then I will see what sports best contribute to keeping me fit. It will probably be just walking to the office and climbing up and down stairs as much as I can...