A morning workout

Since my fieldhockey season only starts in the last weeks of the summer holiday, I try to stay fit via other sports. During the 3 weeks I spent in France, I went mountainbiking with my dad, did some running with my mom, practised some exercises in the pool (think about swimming laps, aquarunning, etc.), did some kayaking and went hiking for a few days. Now that I am back at home my mom and I go for a nice morning run in the forest at least 3 times a week. 

The reason I am writing about this, is because I figured I would tell you something about my motivation to start running and about my workout routine. My main motivation to do sports is because it is healthy. We all have those days where you are just not motivated to do anything, let alone getting up and start exercising. I too have those days, it is normal I guess (?). 

I have been playing hockey for quite some time now, and it is a great way to exercise and meet new people. My weekly hockey routine consists out of two trainings and one match in the weekends. Still, I chose to start running next to my weekly hockey routine. My mom started running a couple of years ago, She wanted to become strong and fit and she has really inspired me to start running. It is a lot of fun to hear about all her stories evolving around running and if you want to read for yourself, you should check out her (Dutch) blog, under the label: 'rennen'.

So, back to my motivation to start running. I really wanted my body to become stronger (which is also very handy for hockey) so I decided to join my mom in a run on a sunday morning. What suprised me very much is the freedom and energy you encounter during and after the workout. Gosh, how great it feels when you have started your day all healthy. You would think you get very tired after a morning workout, which indeed is true, but the energy you gain outweighs the tiredness. So I started joining my mom every sunday and we always picked different routes through the forest so we won't get bored. Our loyal dog always comes with us and it brings me a lot of joy to see him so happily running through the forest (after which he will lay outside in the grass for the remaining day resting). 

Now that the previous hockey season has finished, we were asked to do some intensive sporting each week. So I decided to go and do running 3 days in a week. And, if you were wondering: yes, I still face those days where I am just not motivated to do anything. However, I know now how important it is for your health and how great it feels, coming back after a refreshing morning run, ready to start the day!