At the start of this year, I went on runs regularly and recorded my runs using the Nike Run Club App. Three days a week before school I would wake up early and go on an approximately 3k run at a running track close to my house and then I would also go on longer runs on the weekends (about 6k). Using the Nike Run Club App I would occasionally use the guided runs that are recorded audios from Nike coaches that provide advice and instructed me on a running workout, for example, an interval workout where I changed the speed after a specific amount of time. The guided runs helped to motivate me as well as introduced me to different running workouts to challenge me to improve my speed.

A sunset I saw on one of my runs

By tracking my runs with the app, I was able to see how much I improved. When I started using this app in early August my average pace for a 3-4k was about 6’20”, then by September my average pace was consistently around 5’40”.

However in September in the morning, as I was leaving to go on a run, I sprained my ankle severely. After a trip to the hospital to check for broken bones, I was unable to put weight on it for a couple of days, and then finally I could limp around but it still put a stop to my regular runs.

Although it stopped my running, I was still determined to stay active and persevere. I couldn’t do any impact workouts that might injure it further so I resorted to some at-home workouts, mainly focusing on abs and arms. Currently, I am still unable to run because my ankle has not fully healed and still hurts however I have continued to do these at-home workouts almost every day and I am hoping to swim or bike since they as non-impact exercises to help strengthen my ankle.  Hopefully, I will be able to run again soon.