This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at JMU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

For the past two months, I have been running consistently. While fitness had been an important aspect of my life for around three years, my training has mainly consisted of weight lifting and muscle growth. My workouts, in the past, have mainly consisted of very light cardio, a target muscle group for the day, and a cool-down stretch to end the routine. For those years, I found that this practice not only gave way to a lot of growth but also allowed me to dive deeper into my personal fitness journey. While this routine proved to be effective, it did slowly begin to bore me. Rather than seeing exponential growth, I found I was putting myself on a stagnant path, which left me feeling unsatisfied after workouts. In search of something greater to add to my workouts, I decided to begin incorporating heavier cardio into my workout routines. In turn, here are some of the benefits I have noticed from running so far!

Confidence

One of the more unexpected benefits I have noticed since I began running was heightened confidence. While working out has always given me higher self-esteem and has helped build my confidence in the past, I discovered that running has greatly expedited this benefit. Although there are still days when I feel down and poor about myself, I consistently find that running has helped me boost my mood. After every run, even when I am drenched in sweat, I find that I instantly feel great after running my mile for the day.

Endurance

I believe that this benefit is a given, but I truly did not think I would be greatly impacted by endurance since I began running. Before incorporating running into my fitness journey, I had a hard time being able to keep pace. On the occasion that I would run, I would find myself having to often take breaks to catch my breath. But after running every day for the past two months, I am now able to consistently run a mile in ~8:45 time.

Mental Clarity

One of the greatest benefits I have gotten from running is mental clarity. Every time I run, I find myself being able to shut off noisy thoughts. Whether I am contemplating what to eat for dinner or what plans I have later, everything simply shuts off. Being able to concentrate solely on running itself has proved to be an excellent way to get out of my head and be present in the moment. Moreover, this added mental clarity has also manifested in my daily life as well. I find that since running, I have felt much more level-headed throughout the day. While this benefit was surprising for me, it has proven to be an excellent addition to my life.

Goal-Setting

When I was primarily training target muscle groups, I found I had a hard time setting fitness goals for myself. Instead, I would simply go through the motions of working out without ever feeling truly satisfied because there was no goal I was working toward. However, adding running to my daily routine, I find myself actively working towards goals. After recording every mile, I would ensure I was maintaining a certain time or beating it, and with every day, I found myself continuing to work towards whatever goal I had set. With that, my workouts became meaningful once again.

Increased Water Intake

While I normally pride myself on my daily water intake, I have found that running has been able to help me increase my water intake. Personally, I find that my body doesn’t react the best when I have not had enough water; I tend to be irritable and just feel slothful if my water intake is low. But since I started running, I have been able to consistently drink water throughout the day and reach my daily intake. Additionally, I find that drinking more water has just made me feel better. My skin has been much clearer, and my moods have been stable. Once again, I feel like this benefit is a given, but I still figured it was an important benefit.

Finding Comfort in the Uncomfortable

Running is hard, no doubt about that. However, it has taught me one thing: Being comfortable with the uncomfortable. When you are running, your senses feel heightened. You can hear your heartbeat through your music, you feel the sweat slowly trickling down your forehead, and you can feel your throat tighten up with every step. Although your senses are on overdrive, running has helped me learn to manage these symptoms and persevere through the duration of the run. Although this seems like a small benefit, I find that it has begun to manifest in different aspects of my life besides working out.

Discipline

Aforementioned, working out has been a major part of my life for the past few years. While fitness had always taught me discipline, I believe that I feel it more with running. Circling back to goal-setting, I find that since including running in my daily routine, I have been able to hold myself accountable for ensuring I complete my run. On days when I really do not feel the motivation to run that mile, I give myself a small pep-talk to hype myself up, so I feel prepared to take on that run for the day. By talking positively and hyping myself up, I feel more inclined to hold myself accountable for hitting my goals and making the most out of my workouts.

While I have not been running for long, I still have managed to see some of the amazing benefits it has to offer. With that, I look forward to seeing what else is in store for me and my running journey!

What Running Has Taught Me