Yes, implement them in your favorite programming language.

I was once like you, thinking algorithms were some fancy magical mathematical incantations.

They are for loops and variables, sometimes recursion.

The trick of a good algorithm is to not do unnecessary things, to properly separate the algorithm's code from the application logic.

Give it a try: a sort, a hash tree, an encoding routine.

Just decide what you want ahead of time. Is it speed? Memory efficiency? Code elegance? Esoteric application?

Go ahead, pick an algorithm and a favorite programming language. Do not wait for someone else to tell you it is okay.