The first ten alcohol-free days are a fact

My first 10 days without alcohol, I started on December 29, are already over. In concrete terms, this means that I have already achieved one tenth of my 100-day IkPas Challenge. Those first 10 days flew by and I didn't have a single difficult moment. Is it boring?! A big advantage for me was that my wife was on holiday too, was at home and didn't drink either, so that really made it easier. Furthermore, I have had few social obligations since my last glass, so that also made it easy for me not to drink. Because hey, for many IkPassers the real challenge only really comes when they experience peer pressure during social activities. Fortunately, as a 'stay at home dad' I am not tempted by the Friday afternoon snack. If I did have a Friday afternoon snack, not drinking wouldn't be a big problem. I am not embarrassed not to drink, if necessary alone, if other people do. I don't need it to have a good time either. No, my biggest challenge in avoiding drinking is to avoid boredom or a low mood. That last one in particular could put me to the test. Lately the sun has shown itself far too little. And really, when the sun shines all day, my mood is a lot better than when it's gray and dark all day. A while ago I jokingly texted my wife whether we would not emigrate when we retire to a place with significantly more hours of sunshine. My wife, who was also a bit tired of the gloomy weather, jokingly texted back 'why wait until we retire?' In short, especially if the weather doesn't really cooperate, I have to make sure that I have enough to do and especially that I have a positive feeling about what I do during the day. 

Will I already experience the positive effects of not drinking after 10 days? No, not really, but that's because this is overshadowed by a cold virus that I can't seem to get rid of. Nevertheless, on New Year's Day I went for a run of 5 km in the morning and in the afternoon I walked from our house to my parents, which is also 5 km. I wanted to start the new year on a positive note and kind of set the tone for the rest of the year. May it have been beautiful sunny weather on New Year's Day. That really gives me energy. It had frozen slightly at night so I walked through a beautiful still winter landscape while running. And also when I walked to my parents in the afternoon, the sun was shining. Soooo tasty! 

Last Sunday I was up at the same time as the children. After I had put the finishing touches on a blog about my experiences as a 'stay at home dad', posted the blog on my website Bamboebeertje.nl and informed my followers via various social media about my new blog, I I put on my running clothes and went for a run again. I noticed everything that I am not fit. During the run at the pace and afterwards at the time it took me to recover. Anyway, I did go for a walk and that's what counts most for me. I'm not training for a race, I'm just doing this for my own health, so a little less isn't bad at all. It just doesn't fit my character very well. I'm quite a perfectionist, so everything I do I want to do the best I can. I have my perfectionism reasonably under control, so in daily life it does not limit me or hardly at all and I usually only experience the positive sides. But I notice that with running I set the bar quite high for myself. But yes, improving is just in my nature. When I first started running 10 years ago, I didn't care at all about my running pace. I was much more concerned with building the distance I could walk. I ran 10 km in no time with great ease. I am now a bit older and more prone to injury and I now focus more on my running pace and less on the distance for the time being. I first want to experience that I can run 5 km for a long time and without injury, before I increase the distance. I want to keep going this time and not have to interrupt my running for a shorter or longer period of time due to some stupid injury.

In that regard, I am not dissatisfied with the kick-off of 2020. I just have to survive the winter with limited hours of sunshine in the best possible way. Towards the end of my IkPas Challenge it will be spring again… I'm already looking forward to it. 

I wish all IkPassers a lot of success for the coming week. Believe in yourself and don't give up, even when the going gets tough. You can do this!