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Global Running & Bicycle Day

June 3rd, 2020

By ElliePublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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June 3rd, 2020

Running and Biking.

These are both awesome forms of cardio. I was never a big biker, maybe as a kid. Once I got into college and started caring about my health, I was all about running. For the first year or so, all I did was run. Mostly inside on a treadmill where I could study for class while running. By the way, there is some pretty cool research out there about mental cognition and exercise. Does working out help you study better and retain information? Does it make you smarter? Check out some of the interesting research going on to see what scientists are saying.

It took me over a year to get into lifting weights. Even today it isn’t my favorite activity. I most certainly enjoy the benefits of lifting over time though. And now that I’ve been in the weight area for a bit, I’m considering getting into powerlifting. I have my research cut off for me.

It wasn’t until last year that I started getting into biking. At first, it was a little difficult. I started off slow, literally and figuratively. Speed wise I was so slow. And I didn’t bike very far. I think my very first bike ride was about 5 minutes and roughly 1 mile. We have a lot of bikers around town and I’m sure they would be appalled by those numbers. I’m not a quitter though so I forced my brain to keep biking. It took me some time. Dedication and hard work do pay off folks. After about a month or so I was pushing a mile out in 3 minutes and started working on biking for 15-20 minutes.

My goals had shifted. Originally, I wanted to increase my speed or increase my duration. I was only able to work on one at a time. But now, I can increase my duration while maintaining a speed. My two separate goals merged into one, more complex goal.

Running was still my first love though. Yes, I was biking more often and more efficiently. But I was also running and improving each week. Over the years I transitioned from running indoor on a treadmill to outdoors with no distractions. I ran my first 10k for Thanksgiving of 2019 and it was awesome. The thrill and rush of completing such a goal was exhilarating. My running goals became to work on both my speed and durability for completing a 10k. I knew I could do it. But I wanted to do it better. I want my next 10k to have a better time.

Coronavirus hit and changed everything. I no longer had access to the weights and stationary bikes I had been practicing and building resistance on. That loss has hit me hard, I won’t lie. I’ve definitely lost a lot of muscle mass that I had worked so hard to build. The first month was definitely the hardest. Now, a few months in, I’ve had time to readjust my attitude and habits to be as efficient as I can with the few supplies I have. I still run. And I’m still working on my goals of improving speed and duration. I did fall behind a bit so I’m catching up now, but we’re still going. I’m doing at-home workouts using my own bodyweight to try and exercise my muscles. This isn’t near what the weights had provided for me, but it’s the best I can do for now. Sometimes, that’s all we can do.

Do you have a bike? Use it! Do you have access to the outdoors? Go run! No, it won’t be quite the same as your gym membership. Does that mean you should give up? Heck no! Celebrate Global Running Day and World Bicycle Day by running and biking! They are amazing activities that are good for your mental and physical health. They also can help to keep you in shape until you can get back into the gym.

If you are having trouble scheduling in all your activities into your week, exercise may fall behind. Check out The Quacky Duck for health tips on our recent post 9 Tips to Schedule Like a Boss. Learn how to schedule in all your necessary tasks and have room for extra. Make sure exercise becomes a priority.



Keep running,

Maggie <3



fitness
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About the Creator

Ellie

I'm Ellie, a Health Coach, healthy lifestyle advocate, dog mom and chocolate connoisseur.

I'm super passionate about health and fitness.

I love trying new things and traveling to new places!

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