Of course, I think you’re supposed to call it running these days. But I’ve seen the speed I’m going at, and I’m going to stick with calling it jogging for now*.

The unanswered question is why?

So here’s the thing. I’ve always hated running**. I get out of breath really quickly, my legs burn, and I feel like crap. But I’ve suddenly discovered that’s not true anymore. And I’m not sure what changed.

There are lots of possibilities. Maybe  it’s because I’ve lost weight. Although in the past I’ve been this weight and still hated running. But I was a smoker then, so maybe it’s being a lower weight AND a non-smoker. Then again, I’ve been running after my son as he scooters to school a bit, and I’ve gradually been able to get further without stopping, and now it seems like I can run. Also, I’m running much slower – in the past I always tried to set off fast (to actually run instead of jog). So maybe it’s that – building up gradually. Then again, because I’ve been on the Whole 30, I’ve cut out some bad foods and am probably better at using fat rather than sugar for energy. And have less inflammation. Maybe it’s that.

It could be any if the above – probably its a combination of all of them. But here’s the weird thing. I’ve been running after my son to school, getting a bit fitter. Sure. But that’s 0.5km, even if I run the whole way. Which I haven’t, until the last week or two. Yet when I decided to go out for a run, I did 1.5km on the first run, 3.3km on the second run. Which is more improvement than I’d expect. Hence the WTF?

I’m kind of suspecting that it’s mostly down to the food, although I guess time will tell. For now, I guess the best thing I can do is take advantage of the moment!

*(In case you’re wondering, 3.3km in 27 minutes. Not fast at all. That’s not a surprise. The surprise is that the bear can dance at all.)

**(Actually, it’s not true that I’ve always hated running. I just remembered, I used to run 800km in PE lessons at school. But that was mostly to get out of the other alternatives like e.g. high jump.)