Why are you bothering?

Surely if you practice sports at any time of the day, in any weather condition, you may have heard yourself asking this question.

It’s 7 am, the alarm has just sounded. I turn in the bed, a ray of sunlight filters through the window and peeks over my pillow. I open my eyes, look out and see the lake which, by focusing on the sun shining, wakes me up. Don’t stay in bed, I think, because then you regret it. The head as it rolls on the pillow, urges me to get out of the covers and “forces” me to get up. I put on my shorts and sweater prepared the night before going to bed.
I look at myself in the mirror with sleepy eyes and throw some cold water on my face to wake me up. I go down to the kitchen, drink, wear shoes, music and go. 7-8km, half an hour of travel, no more. It is early morning and I am fasting. It is enough for me to wake up the body and give it that amount of endorphins before going to work.

I love the moment of the race because I focus on breathing, the swing of my arms and the alternation of steps. Although I have never practiced Yoga, I think what I feel is about the same effects. A sort of peace with myself and the world.
Running is an athletic gesture that makes me feel good.

Who makes you do it … but who doesn’t make you do it?

I started to get closer to running a few years ago, even though I already loved it as a child.
At night I dreamed of running. As I dreamed of riding a bike.
Running and cycling have always been my favorite game. I still am. Because when I pedal or run I feel really good and if during the effort I struggle, the a posteriori sensations are of happiness. A real feast of endorphins.
The pains, the stress, the bad thoughts … those then, all cancel each other out.
It is a sacrifice that you sometimes make for yourself but also for others. If you are okay, avoid taking it out of nonsense that everyday life involves.

Think of how many people set the alarm clock like me to play sports before going to the office. Who makes him do it? Stress, boredom, everyday life … but also joy, a goal, a goal. Like the one in Venice that after 42 km on foot welcomed me embracing me. When the legs, frozen by the water and the wind, brought me down there, there were people around who cheered and applauded. I was surrounded by a lot of people, destroyed but happy. Tired, cold, and yet they still had the strength and courage to smile and hugged everyone.
Who makes him do it? Happiness. And I smiled with them.

We all feel like heroes when we reach the end of a race. On foot or by bicycle.
Discharges of thoughts, but full of that motivation that brought us to them.
It does not matter the number of km traveled, the score in the standings. The important thing is that goal that you set yourself and that you achieved thanks to those sacrifices, to those awake early, to those training in the cold, in the warm or just awake on fast. But how good is it then to jump into the shower, feel the cool or warm water on, rub the cream and leave again? Sit at the table and enjoy our favorite breakfast after a fasting workout.

I find that sport is a sort of “Problem Solving”.
With the race run down the thoughts, km after km along with sweat go to die on the asphalt. I face them with cycling. The result is always the same: When I’m done, I’m definitely better. I make peace with the world. Even the most unpleasant person encountered in the workplace bothers me less.

So don’t be afraid to sacrifice a moment of your day to dedicate it to physical activity. Try and get infected.
You will no longer ask yourself who makes us do it, but you will think what you did not do, while you will enjoy and feel dependent on this feeling of healthy and contagious happiness.

Francesca Giani