Since coming to Germany, I’ve barely done any exercise.  I’ve gone from walking the dogs for 30 minutes every morning and doing 6 hours of martial arts training a week to doing nothing at all.  I started off doing some running, then had a horror 8 weeks where I had cold after cold and my lung were permanently full of phlegm.  Thanks to the power of Clementines giving me a Vitamin C boost every day (or perhaps not), I am now cold free and ready to get back into exercising.

I have put on 4kg.  Admittedly I came to Germany underweight and probably needing to put on about 2kg, but the other 2kg I definitely don’t need and I’m starting to feel frumpy. Therefore this morning I decided to start running again.  It was a beautiful clear morning and along with that came cold temperatures, -9.5C, and my running gear consists of sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie, a beanie and gloves.  Guess who wasn’t even remotely dressed for this weather!  Still I went out and ran and it was the best thing I could of done.

I was surprised how many other people were out in the park; some running, some out walking their dogs and others out pulling their kids on wooden sleds that probably haven’t changed design since the 1400s.  It was fantastic to get outside and ran around the park watching everyone else going about their Sunday morning.  It was also so much fun running on snow for the first time ever and hearing it crunch under my feet. I just love the sound of crunching snow. Even though I have lost so much fitness, I felt like a new person after my run, ready to get stuck into my Sunday chore of giving the house a really good clean and getting rid of all the grit that has accumulated throughout my tiny apartment. The downside of snow is the girt that they sprinkle over it so you don’t slip when it all turns icy.  It’s fabulous stuff when out on the snow and ice, but hellish when it gets tracked into your apartment on the bottom of your shoes, even when you have wiped them on the mat several million times.

The challenge will be getting up at 7am tomorrow morning to go for another run. These winter mornings with sunrise at 8:30am are kicking my ass, but I must get up and I must run.  I have been in the best physical fitness of my life this year and I can’t afford to lose it. Besides, how am I going to find a hot new girlfriend if I pile on the weight??