Ever since I realized I cry tears of joy when I see people going through the finish line of Belgrade Marathon, I knew I have to do it myself. So I had big plans about waking up in the morning and going for a run and I followed all those motivational accounts on Instagram that told you that all you had to do is make that first step and everything else will be easy afterward… It never actually worked for me.

I was quite disappointed with my quitting attitude and the fact that warm bed was always more appealing than my goals list. But I guess you have to go through disappointments before you can get on track with reaching your goals. I made a deal with myself — I’m going to try once more, now with a plan and a club, and if I fail, I’m never going to try again to run a half marathon again. This shook my mindset.

So I joined Belgrade Running Club, where I have a team and a coach and a well thought out plan. Even before the start of the program, I felt highly motivated and excited, and ever the temperature that was under 0°C each time we went running didn’t bring me down.

Here are things that I noticed happened during the first month of my training:

• From being excited before the workouts but fighting for my breaths during them, I progressed to actually enjoy the workout itself. Even though we push ourselves a bit more with each workout, I don’t continue thinking “What the hell am I doing here?! Why do I need this in my life?”.
• I feel less anxious and much more calm, and it keeps getting better and better with each workout. It feels like somebody gives me a “good job” relaxation pill after I finish running.
• I don’t have problem waking up at 6:30 am each morning which is something that increases quality of my life tremendously. I have more time to chase my other goals and finish things. In general, I feel more rested than before.
• This is something that I can’t confirm yet — but I think my metabolism is boosted. I definitely don’t have late night cravings anymore. But I’ll follow this further and will make notes.

Other than this, I’m proud of myself for making it through my first month without quitting. I was consistent. It’s not that I just kept going, I felt happy that I had the opportunity to be in the team and to run each time.

Looking forward to the following months! One down, five to go!

Cheers from one happy runner!

Ana Vukašinović