After a couple (knee and ankle) injuries in 5-a-side football games i stayed on the sidelines not just of football but of any physical exercise whatsoever. I made some hopeless attempts to bring myself back to the league of fit men but they all proved futile. I resigned myself in a life of sleep, work, and videogaming with lots of snacks and drinks in between these "activities". The Dark Ages of my physique and fitness. 2 years in total.

That was until late August when i decided that enough was enough. Reaching the 1st floor breathless and not fitting into my clothes were not the decisive factors. No. It was stress. Or rather the need to relieve stress and the best medicine is exercise. A return to the futsal pitches of Nicosia was tempting as i love football but the high risk of injury and my breaking the barrier of 30 years old put me off. Cycling i dismissed due to fears of reviving knee problems. Swimming was a no go as i needed something that i could on weekdays unless i was willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money to hotels or gyms.

Therefore i turned towards running. it's the easiest exercise to start doing but probably the most difficult to commit to as it can get boring. Variety is key. First of goals and then of routes. My current goal is to run 3 miles which is close to 5km while currently i am at 2.5miles. I believe by the end of the week i will reach the 5km mark. My route is just around a track near my flat and this can be quite boring as you keep going round and round for 25 mins. Tomorrow i am going to do a run at Prwtaras for a change of scenery but i am definitely on the lookout for a new route here in Nicosia.

Mardas, my running partner, said to me how incredible the endurance change in the first couple of weeks when starting to get fit again. I would like to add that exercising does wonders to one's psychology. A word of advice. If you are going to start running yourself then invest in some running shoes. They are well worth it and will help you avoid early injuries.

See you in a park/track near you!