by Jim
(Huntington, WV)
Taking up a sport as a hobby can be a lot of fun. Sometimes, it’s important to break the monotony of life and do something different for a change. Following the same routine, every day, year after year can be really boring. At such times, what one needs is a breath of fresh air, a change, a break!!!
A couple of years ago, my best friend moved to another country. I was devastated as we had been friends since childhood. With her gone, I was only left with my siblings to pass time. Alas, they too were not available. My brother enrolled in the army and my sister was too busy with her five-month old twins to be much of a company.
That set me thinking and I realized that it was high time I stopped depending on other people for my recreation or moods. I needed to take up an activity to keep me busy and occupied. So, I decided to take up running.
I had never ran in my life and though for most people, it’s a daily routine, for me it was an alien concept. The first day, I was out of breath after a minute and 20 seconds. It was slightly better the next day and by the end of the week, I was running for a good seven minutes before stopping for a sip of water.
Gradually, I began to enjoy this new-found activity of mine. In addition, I could feel my body trimming down and the love-handles disappearing. That was quite encouraging on its own. The best part was that I didn’t need to enroll in a fancy gym or buy sophisticated sport gear for this. I could take a sprint wherever and whenever I wanted to. And that’s exactly what I did. I would go out around my block, or I would take a break from work, put on my sneakers and do a quick run.
Soon, I realized that the running was taking away my stress. My blood pressure came down and I cut back on my pill. I slept better at night and ate better, too!!!