Abdallah Mekky

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Abdallah Mekky@AbdallahMekky·Sep 8· 1 min read
Ran 12k today, and felt like I found my old legs again.

It's not the first time I've run in my life, but it feels like I'm starting almost from zero. The muscles remember, but the mind needs to be convinced from scratch that this is possible again. The first 3k, everything in me was saying "you've been on a break for a while, take it easy." After that, the old rhythm came back on its own.

"Coming back" is a different feeling from "starting." Starting comes with a kind of blind excitement. Coming back comes with the awareness of already knowing what the fatigue tastes like, and choosing to walk into it again anyway.

There's still a long road ahead before I'm back to the fitness I used to have, and the bigger dream is still far off. But every kilometer today was a brick in that road.

#Running #BackToRunning #Training

🏃 Running

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Abdallah Mekky@AbdallahMekky·Sep 8· 1 min read
After Fajr prayer today, I went out to run from Maadi to Muqattam before heading to work.

About halfway through, I felt a strain in my calf muscle, the one at the back of my leg. I stopped for a couple of seconds, grabbed my leg, and thought, should I turn back? But I decided to keep going at a calmer pace — not to prove anything to anyone, just because I wasn't going to let this distance break me while I'm still at the very start of the road.

I finished it. Not at my best pace, and not without pain, but I finished it.

Honestly, the distance itself wasn't the only win today. The win was that I actually went out after Fajr in the first place, while the world was still quiet and the street still empty, and I chose to test myself at a time it would've been so much easier to just be asleep. The honor of trying is enough for me, even if my leg isn't fully on board.

I know there are people running full marathons along the Nile, people crossing deserts, people who turn Cairo's streets into a group running track every week. I'm still far from all of that, but every morning like today gets me one step closer.

I'll rest a bit, and be back soon.

#Running #Maadi #Muqattam #BackToRunning

🌅 After Fajr
Abdallah Mekky@AbdallahMekky·Sep 8· 1 min read
I've come to love that moment of quiet right before the day officially starts.

No phone, no messages, just me, my coffee, and a handful of scattered thoughts trying to arrange themselves. This particular stretch of life, I feel like I'm opening more than one "door" at the same time — coming back to running, learning something completely new with kids, and even this little space I'm writing in right now. Each door on its own is slow, but the nice part is that they're all moving together.

Not everything needs to be solved right now. Some ideas need time to rest before they mature on their own, and some doors need a long time before they open all the way.

I want to start documenting these moments here — not necessarily for anyone to read, but so I can come back to them in a year and see how much I've changed.

#Reflections #Journal #NewBeginnings

☕ Mornings
Abdallah Mekky@AbdallahMekky·Sep 8· 1 min read
This period of my life is not stable at all. Problems in pretty much every corner, and for years now I've been living in survival mode more than anything else — meaning I'm not really living, just trying to get through the day without completely falling apart.

But today I just want to do two things. No more than that. I don't want to fix everything at once, I just want to move one step in the right direction.

I'm trying to reach real stability, and rebuild myself from scratch if that's what it takes. I'm trying to be steady in every part of my life, not just one piece of it. Sports and running are the routine I'm trying to make the anchor that holds everything else together, on top of genuinely paying attention to my health overall — physical, mental, and human — my wellness as a whole.

Today's a messy day, but I'm going to go play football after work in a small five-a-side league. Haven't played in a long time. Not a huge thing in itself, but right now, any return to something I used to love is a win.

I'm trying to get my life back. Trying to reclaim it. And God willing, I'll make it.

#Life #Stability #SurvivalMode #StartingOver

🌊 Unsteady