A little bit of a different post today, but I thought I’d touch on life outside of renovating. A renovation is all-consuming, isn’t it?! When you have a whole house to tackle, small budgets to negotiate, rooms upon rooms to think about, practical issues to consider, design planning, need I go on? Needless to say – it’s constant and no easy task. There’s rarely a day that passes where I haven’t had to think about these things in some way or another.
We’re now six years into our renovation and I’m fairly sure we’ll have another six more to go – haha! For a long time, I allowed DIY and renovating to take up every inch of my free time, mentally and physically. If we weren’t actually DIYing, I would be thinking about it and often planning the next steps. Every single day. And to be honest, it was needed – I mean, there was a time when we spent 18 months without a kitchen, we needed to keep at it.
But for the last couple of years, I’ve taken a step back. I make time for things outside of DIY – although admittedly, this is still limited. A two-week holiday, the odd trip into town for coffee, a bit of baking here and there, sitting down to watch a box set series – it’s hardly groundbreaking stuff, but it’s still time away from DIY.
And more recently I’ve started running. It’s not something I’ve ever done before, and to be honest, it wasn’t something I ever wanted to do, until recently. And it’s not exactly specific to running, but I wanted to be more active and running seemed like a good thing to try.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll already know all this – but back in January, I started running using the Couch to 5K App (this one – it’s free and recommended by NHS!), because I wanted to improve fitness and be a bit more active. And to be honest, although I don’t LOVE the physical aspect of actually running – I think it has been great in other ways. And it’s those things that keep me at it! So I thought I’d share some of the positives I’ve personally found from running which have helped me within our never-ending DIY renovation.
FYI, if you haven’t properly ever ran before, I definitely recommend Couch to 5k – it’s essentially a 9-week programme (podcast) which takes you from being unable to run to running 5km (or 30mins straight). Surprisingly – it works! And don’t worry, it starts off super easy with runs lasting just 60 seconds at a time! It combines walking and running to slowly improve your fitness levels. If you struggle at any point – I recommend repeating weeks before moving on! So don’t worry so much about doing it in the recommended 9-weeks.
Change of Routine and Gets You OUT The House
If you’re feeling stuck in a rut – same shit, different day, then I think adding a daily walk or run is a great way to shake things up a little. I find parts of DIY renovating can be SO repetitious and it requires you to be at home a lot. Running has been a great way to force me out of the house – get some fresh air and even in the winter (when I began running!), it’s actually been really nice.
We do walk the dog too of course, but they’re fairly short walks (he’s lazy!) and running has allowed us to go further afield. We’ve even explored local areas I never knew existed! I think I definitely appreciate some of our local outdoor spaces a lot more because of running. I try to run different routes every few weeks, so it keeps it new, fresh and interesting! If you’ve never properly run outdoors before, you’ll be surprised how far you can get in just 20 minutes!
Keeping You Motivated!
Renovating is such slow progress. I find it can be days and weeks before you feel like you’ve actually ‘achieved’ anything. Which can be disheartening for sure! Running is a small challenge which made me feel like I was achieving something on my days, which in turn, has made me a bit more motivated, particularly around renovating if things with DIY were going slowly.
If you’re not a natural running lover (believe me, I am NOT!), then there are some great apps to keep you motivated on a run too. As mentioned, I initially started running using Couch to 5K which is great and combines walking and running to slowly improve your fitness levels.
It’s Social!
Renovating is quite lonely, socially. It’s why I love Instagram I guess because you journey through renovating together via sharing online. I didn’t know it – but running is like that as well.
I’ve really enjoyed using an app called Nike Run Club and also Strava which kinda like facebook/instagram but specifically for excerise/running/biking. You can view your route on a map, add photos and see what all your friends have been up to as well!
There are challenges you can join with your friends (or even make your own!), and it’s actually just a bit of fun. You don’t need to necessarily meet up with friends/family, you can just do it together online! If you can get others involved too, it can feel like a social activity, even though you may not actually be seeing/meeting other people.
We have a friendly competition with family through running, although my brother is now miles ahead and just did a half-marathon. So I’ve got some catching up to do, haha!
Guilt-Free Eating!
We all know renovating is 60% about eating crap food and not having the time to cook a wholesome healthy meal. Takeaways, even oven food and the need to drown your sorrows in chocolate cake is all part of reno experience (in my opinion!).
Personally, I love a chocolate treat and running has enabled to eat it in large quantities without feeling guilty. Although I’m not gonna lie, I don’t tend to feel that guilty for all the junk I eat anyway! But it does make me feel like it’s slightly more balanced now anyway.
I tend to cook some sort of delicious chocolatey dessert once a week, so I basically get to scoff my face daily! These amazing cake plates are from Sara Miller (AD-gifted) and are just as much of a treat as the cakes themselves! There are lots of other kitchen decoration accessories from there which I have my eye on, I reckon a 10k treat should be on the cards? Haha!
Improved Fitness
I know this is pretty obvious, but I’m gonna say it anyway. I feel SO much better for having started running. My cardio is better, my fitness is better, I’m probably sleeping better (hard to tell when you go between days and night work). But you get the idea. I definitely feel healthier, without really having to commit to a strict healthy diet or a strict exercise regime.
For me, running is completely casual. I don’t focus on calories burnt, or time spent running, or speed. I just pick a route and go for it! Sometimes it’s only 20minutes, other times it can be 45-1hour. I don’t put oodles of effort into running, and still – I feel better for it and the work-out from DIY renovating doesn’t quite feel as tough.
Mental Wellbeing!
Finally – I’d say, it’s helped with mental wellbeing too. I know the drain of renovating can go on and on and on. So, for me, I’ve found running gives me time to NOT focus on the house, work, DIY or anything. You can switch off, listen to some music (or a podcast!) and just enjoy the view. And I guess it’s a good way to destress too! Unlike watching an entire box set or lounging around to switch off (although both are still good to do!), I tend to feel better for running too.
So that’s my running journey so far! I’ve been running now for almost 6 months. Initially, I started with 3x a week, although they were much shorter runs, but I’ve cut it down to around 2x a week now. It’s definitely a commitment and finding time isn’t always easy – but I do think it’s well worth it.
I know so many people were interested in my running progress, especially from having never run before. Has Couch to 5k turned me into a runner? In a way, I guess so! I’m hardly about to sign up for a marathon, but in the casual runner sense, yes!
Of course, running isn’t the only way to be more active. You can bike, simply walk or even rollerskate if you fancy it! But running is what I’ve been doing and if you’re ever feeling a bit crap during a reno – I definitely recommend getting out and about!
No Comments