I have been going on morning runs for the month of September, every morning before or after school I go on a 2 km run. Since due to the time difference between Srilanka and Turkey, before school jogs often take place between 4-5 am and afterschool jogs take place around 12-1. I thought September had great weather to squeeze in some more outside workouts before winter hits and I have to exercise indoors. These runs have helped me relieve stress, get back my stamina, and practice mindfulness.

Challenge & skills:

Although the temperatures have dropped pretty low this month, I have stuck with my goal of finishing this month with a jog every morning. Some days it’s extra difficult because it’s very cold, around 10-9 degrees celsius, and it has been a challenge to undertake and complete the 2 km run. Often when it’s cold it’s also harder to run longer because my body feels tired quicker and I run out of breath quicker since colder temperatures cause muscles to tighten and resist efforts, and can reduce your stride length. But prevailing for a whole month has definitely improved my stamina and resistance to the cold weather, as it has gotten a bit easier to complete the 2 km as days went on. Mentally going on these jogs has helped me clear my mind as well as giving me some quite peaceful time to organize my thoughts. It definitely helped me create a mental to-do list of the day and helped me kickstart my days with energy.

Strength & Growth:

Since I have been running for quite a while outside of this month, I already had pretty good stamina. But as I got used to living in hot weather countries, doing sports in colder climates has become harder. At first, the cold did reduce my stride length and impacted my overall pace which was offputting since I expect to have a faster paste since my stamina is good, but in an order to improve I had to adapt to my surroundings. As my body got more use to the cold it was easier to run for longer but I also developed some areas of growth. First, one being the warm-ups before the runs, in hotter climates I often skipped the warmups and instead started by walking and transitioned into running. But in cold weather warming up before activities have really helped improve my performance and make me feel less cold. I also found out which warm-ups work best for me and improved my performance (jumping jacks, high-knees, butt-kicks, and push-ups). Additionally, having to adapt to this weather made me more organized as I began to never forget my warm water because if I did it was harder to find water that was not cold.

Commitment & Perseverance:

The commitment to this one moth jog has helped me adapt to a colder climate since I have not experienced a winter season in 2-3 years. It also helped me get back on track with my active lifestyle since due to personal reasons I had to stop sports for a while. Sticking with this run for a month helped me get my stamina back and got me ready for my gym journey I will start at the end of this month since winter is coming and I can not keep running outside.