The Adventures of an Athlete

When I use the word "athlete," I generally use it as a loose term. In my eyes, an athlete is someone who loves sport and can even be a little bit competitive. So basically, I think everyone is an athlete at heart.
This week, I wanted to talk about my crazy "adventures" with sport, while also mentioning a few lessons that have helped me along the way, to help you get motivated.

Ever since I was little, I've loved to run. I remember winning my first cross country race back when I was in grade 1 (I think it was about 1.2km - intense stuff for a 6 year old), and realising that I actually wasn't too bad when it came to middle-distance running. Ever since then, I've taken running pretty seriously, but didn't start to properly train until I was 13. Also, I never really believed I was good enough for the district cross country team, until this year when I tried out and got in straight away! That taught me a pretty important lesson: You'll never know if you don't try.

Since I wasn't properly training until a few years ago, I wasn't doing any sport for a number of years - and this didn't make my parents too happy. In this time, I played basketball for a year (and hated it), was part of an athletics club for 2-3 years (and liked it, but ended up quitting because I didn't have a lot of friends there - another thing to remember is Don't let other people drive you away from something you love), and I nearly joined netball. This problem ended ended in grade 8, when I signed up for soccer because some of my friends were also playing. It took me a while to get used to it, especially when you have to alter your technique whenever you change the position you're playing. I'm so glad I signed up though, because I absolutely love it, and I've continued to play ever since.

If you're looking to get more serious about sport, one thing I cannot stress enough about is to take it easy when you're training! About 2 months ago, I was training for an event (that got postponed anyway) with so much intensity that I actually ended up tearing a muscle. Luckily, my school holidays allowed me to relax while I (rather impatiently) waited for it to heal. Which brings me to my next point...

When I haven't ran for about a week, I literally go crazy. Oh, my bedroom's just down the hall? Better sprint. I'm guessing half of you are thinking that I'm really weird right now, but I promise you I'm not. I mean,  being unable do what you love would probably make everyone go just a little crazy.

My advice when it comes to sport? Try a bit of everything to see what you enjoy, or you're good at. After that, join your local team and don't look back!



Everyone knows that regular exercise will cause you to look and feel healthy, but did you know that it can also make you happy? When you exercise, your brain releases feel-good hormones that can quickly improve your mood.

Okay everyone, that's all from me this week! If you have a question or suggestion about any of my posts, feel free to leave me a comment. Bye! xx

Next Week: August Favourites!