innerorigami replied to your post: -6 C
Agree with this. It also gives you something to hold onto that many people wouldn’t apply themselves to do. Set’s you apart from the pack, so to speak. Not in a lofty way, but as if to say, “see kid, you’re tough.”
That is exactly how I felt when I ran my first half-marathon. This blog is many things: pride, vanity, indulgence, fear, shame, frustration, love, etc. And I keep moving forward because running keeps on giving back.
- 5 minutes of uninterupted running.
- 30 minutes of uninerupted running.
- 5 km.
- 10 km.
- Summer running.
- Winter running.
- Half-marathon.
- Running on the hottest day of the year.
- Running on the coldest day of the year.
- 5 a.m. running.
- 11 p.m. running.
- [ To be determined. ]
-6 C
Running year round takes dedication. It’s easy to come up with excuses: I’m tired. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. I worked 80 hours last week. etc. There’s always something that keeps you from getting out there.
I am just as susceptible to this as the next guy. I hate the cold. I hate the dark. I hate these winter months where you only see grey clouds and mushy snow.
But there is something to be said for getting out there in negative degree temperatures. It inspires you. It makes you feel invincible. It keeps you going. Use that negative energy and make it work for you. Take that ugly weather and make it something beautiful.
What Works For You?!
Some of my friends will ask me what keeps me motivated? The answer is a blend of many things: fear, pride, health, vanity.
Some people can eat whatever they want and still maintain a moderately healthy weight. I cannot. I have to watch what I eat, exercise regularly, fight the temptation of indulging too much. It’s this constant battle that keeps me motivated. Knowing that if I let myself NOT do the three things listed above, then I’ll start to let bad habits back in, that I will return to a state of health that is not good for me.
If you want to call this bragging, feel free. But I earn all of my fitness through hard work, sweat, bloods & tears. You have to find what works for you. Blogging my way through every single kilometre works for me.
Enjoy the pavement. Kill it.
Motivation
A short run last night at 4 km but what was amazing about it was that my pace was about a km faster than I normally run. It might have had something to do with the fact that I had ordered a pizza and I knew I had to be back before the 30 minute mark.
:-p
It’s nice to have a some what more regular running schedule. Going out of the country was nice and running along a beach in Mexico is certainly a memory I’m not going to forget any time soon. But…
It’s nice to be back home and running familiar country roads (even if they are covered in snow).
“ lowsideoftheroad replied to your post: The past week and a half has been a nightmare on…”
tennis is a blast. Congrats for having the mental strength to be active while on vacation lol
It wasn’t that hard actually. There was lots of swimming and my nephews were constantly wanting to play tennis. A court was a 5 minutes walk from our villa. I was a little worried having not picked up a racquet since 1999 but aside from my serve, most of my mechanics/game-play were still intact.
I’m thinking I need to start to play again. Maybe let’s have a game or two this spring/summer. Cheers.
The past week and a half has been a nightmare on my schedule. I’ve only run twice but I’ve also done a shit-load of cardio with all the tennis I was playing while in Mexico, several hours worth. So I feel like I’ve met my work-out quota.
That being said, I still have lots of work to do with regard to upper body strength and core strength training. My stomach is still not where I want it to be and I’ve been up and down with regard to my sit-ups.
It’s been frustrating the past month or two. But I’ll keep going forward and keep on trying.
Study Suggests Lower Mortality Risk for People Deemed to Be Overweight
A report on nearly three million people found that those whose body mass index ranked them as overweight had less risk of dying than people of normal weight. ~ NYTimes.com
I’m not trying to fat shame or put people down who are overweight or obese but it amazes me how quickly people rationalize unhealthy behaviour. Trust me, I should know because I used to do this ALL the time.
What I am trying to say is that these studies should be taken with a grain of salt. Just a few weeks ago there was a dust-up in various health/news sites about the negative impacts of running too much. Wait a few more weeks and someone will write a report or study on the negative health impacts of setting New Year resolutions.
I’m not trying to deny that these studies provide important information. On the contrary, there is much to be gained from these types of reports. It creates a dialogue, it provides context.
I just think that balance is the key. Not just in how you eat/exercise but also in how you consume information that the media provides. This article in the Globe and Mail last month addresses what I am raising here on the blog: How reliable is your health news? Definitely worth a read.
For the lazy I’ll break it down:
“The [studies] that seem most attractive to most investors and peer reviewers and journals are the ones that find the most spectacular results,” said John Ioannidis, a professor of medicine at Stanford University.
“There’s a desire to possibly make one’s research look more meaningful than it is in reality,” said Briffa. “Evidence can be misrepresented, overhyped and be quite misleading.”
The problem is that while a medical study may be poorly designed, have a small sample size or is otherwise flawed, it can be presented in a press release as being a major breakthrough or discovery.
Read between the lines. Think carefully about the information that is being presented to you. I am sure that with a little time we could all find a study that justifies our behaviour: both the good and the bad.
A grain of salt.
That Time of Year
It’s that time of year where people sign up for gym memberships and make New Years resolutions to change their health/diet/weight/etc.
I’m glad that people want to make these types of changes. I used to make them myself for many, many, many years but I would often give up after a few weeks. And that’s the thing. It’s not hard to change yourself for one week, maybe even two. But somewhere around the third week most people start to rationalize or waver on the choices they make.
I’d like to offer some advice for those who wish to truly change themselves and keep their resolutions:
- Write it down.
- Talk about it.
- Tell your family/friends.
- Set achievable goals.
- It is ok to fail.
- Even the smallest improvement is an improvement. Hold onto that.
- Keep going.
I recall quite vividly how much I wanted to quit the Couch to 5K running program when I first started two years ago. But I also recall how happy I was when I discovered that I had lost two lbs in the first week. It’s not a significant amount of weight loss but it was progress. And I held onto that. It was something positive, it was something that I achieved through hard-work and perseverance.
I just passed my two year anniversary a month ago and even though I’ve managed to keep off the weight and change my lifestyle with regard to eating/exercise, I still find that it’s a struggle. I still set goals. I still sometimes fail at them.
It’s an ongoing process and it’s not going to happen in a single day. It takes weeks, months, and often years to significantly make the type of change that many people want.
Keep going forward. Kill it.
Running 2013
My resolution will be the same as last year:
- To run.
- To keep running.
- To run some more.
Kill it.
Bad News / Good News
Bad News: I have to leave Mexico tomorrow. So my mini-vacation of sun, fun, & run is almost over. It means cold weather, 12 hour shifts, & back to the normal daily grind. Blah.
Good News: I’ve eaten some amazing food. I’ve swum in the ocean. I’ve snorkeled for my very first time. I’ve played football with my nephews & nieces. I’ve run along the beach. I’ve played tennis for the first time in more than fifteen years. I’ve been drunk for most every night the last four nights and had tolerable hang-overs.
This trip was amazing and it’s definitely something I’ve needed. It’s nice to just get away from it all. And seeing that this is my first non-stay-at-home vacation in more than 20 years I would think that it’s well deserved.
