🐢 6 years off sports and my first jog nearly finished me

I haven't played anything in 6 years. Last Sunday morning I decided to go back to the ground near my house. We used to play tennis ball cricket there every weekend, 12 of us, before work and moving around scattered everyone. I wore my old shoes. The sole on the left one came off by the second lap. I walked home carrying it in my hand, and a man on a scooter slowed down to stare. My body forgot everything. I got winded before the first corner of the track, and my calves burned for 3 days. Going up the stairs at home I held the railing like an old uncle, and my sister filmed it. What bothered me more was the head part. I kept thinking I used to run this in no time. That version of me is gone and I kept chasing him round the track. A friend of mine who restarted last year told me the first month is the worst one. She said don't look at your old speed, just show up 3 times a week and leave. So that's what I did. Two months in, I still walk some of every lap. But I haven't skipped a single morning since the shoe incident, and I bought new ones. Last week I jogged a full lap without stopping. A kid on a cycle passed me, but I didn't mind. I'm not fast, and nobody at that ground cares. I just want to be able to play again by December. Some mornings I still stand at the gate for a minute before going in, just to get my nerve up. The stairs at home are a little easier now, so I take that as a win for this week.

I restarted running at 38 after about 10 years of only walking to the car. The first week I managed 1 kilometre and then stood bent over a gate, pretending to check my phone. Don't compare yourself to the old you, he ran faster and had no knees to worry about. I'm at 5 kilometres now, slowly. The shoe story made me laugh, hope the new ones fit.