4 posts tagged “motivation”

I ran 5 kilometres around the city last night, and I'm not even that sore!

Not that it felt easy. I was actually okay until we stopped at a red light for nearly four minutes and then went off again. Then my brain got tired. I say that because for me running, or exercise in general, seems very much a case of mind over matter. I have quite low blood pressure, so when it gets up with exercise I hear a voice saying that it's too hard, I don't like being sweaty, I feel very tired and may faint or something if I don't stop. But another part of me suspects this is not true. I am not so delicate that I can't get a little sweat up. As it is, even when I really exert myself it only takes a couple of minutes for my heart rate to drop again. So it is a matter of telling myself off for laziness, not letting myself stop just because part of me doesn't feel like exercising ever and doesn't understand why it isn't getting its way this time. I am not generally a fan of self-motivational talk/power animals/grunt in the mirror-type psychobabble, but I am now applying a small piece of that wisdom to exercise. I know the facts. Our bodies are not accustomed to sitting in a chair all day. Sitting in a chair all day can make a body feel tired and crave fatty, sugary foods it does not need. No exercise + too much crap food = jeans feeling and looking uncomfortably tight. My body has finally realised it is not 20 anymore and has started acting more its age, ie. like more like every other woman around me who moans about weight gain and inches and soup diets, and finally I am starting to understand. If I want to keep my figure I have to do what most Western women do: cut down on the junk food and take up exercise. Simple.

After nearly two weeks of not exercising while I recovered from a lingering flu/cold combination thing, I expected to find it difficult to get back into. Not so! Going for a jog last Sunday, I could keep up with my slightly faster roommate for nearly half an hour solid. At Body Balance I could stretch further and hold most poses for longer than before. And at gymnastics I could hold a handstand for about 1 and a half seconds!!! Yay! It was like I'd managed to store that unused energy somewhere until needed and then just let it all out. Muscle memory is more than just a term now I've felt it in action. Feels damn good.

In that spirit I've finally joined the gym across the road. Cute instructor, surprisingly well-equipped cardio room for such an old building, boxing bag and ball in a little private corner so I can punch away without feeling self-conscious, and did I mention right across the road??

Let's hope this enthusiasm lasts.

Mmmm. Too scared to book flights online for holiday next month as net connection keeps randomly dropping out.....

Can't be arsed writing longer post for same reason.

I have found that weekends tend to screw up rigorous fitness regimens, especially really long ones. Had a wonderful lazy, indulge every whim Friday, lingering over a big breakfast in an uncrowded cafe, taking pictures of the beautiful weathered doors on inner suburban houses on my way into the city, seeing a slightly disturbing Aussie suspense film called Noise, and pondering the phallic towers guarding the front and inside of 101 Collins Street. Saturday, Sunday and Monday weren't much better exercise-wise, but very chilled.

After dutifully dropping 3 dollar coins into the charity jar of shame, today was my first day back into it properly. It's lost a bit of its appeal as I don't want to go swimming and catch a new strain of cold from the pool vapours, and shuffling around the park requires a fair bit of willpower at this time of year. But if I plan to do the City to Surf this year I should really get my skinny arse out there....

Ho hum. New year rung in, new excuses to counter my fiercely proclaimed resolutions. After a few years of not bothering with ny resolutions, I decided to make just one this year: build some cardio fitness. A few weeks ago I went to my gym's outdoor pool anticipating the joy of swimming backstroke, seeing nothing but the clear blue sky and hearing nothing but my two arms splashing gently into the water. This is one of my favourite things to do on a warm sunny day, and was denied to me for three years in Tokyo because most of the public pools there are undercover, have funny opening hours and are often full of slow old people. 

Before floating on my back for a lap though, I feel I have to earn it. So in I plunged for a good string freestlye lap. Oh what a shock I got. In my previous swimming life I could easily do three 100m laps without stopping. This time I gasped along for the first 50m leg, turned and managed to get halfway before swallowing too much water to go on, stopping and dog-paddling to the edge, sputtering and burning with indignation. How the hell did I get this unfit?

I thought I was actually getting fitter while travelling, doing so much walking around in the hot sun, at least once a week with 14 kilos on my back. Did I manage to lose all that in just under two months? I've been going to Body Balance classes once a week, but I suppose the main reason I do them is they make me feel fit without actually making me breathe too hard. I used to hate running of any kind, not seeing the point in getting out of breath beacause it was uncomfortable and made me go all red and splotchy and awfully sweaty. But a few years ago I started to see the light. My flatmate in Tokyo, L, was a runner and had much more determination and persistence than me. I latched onto her persistence and started joining her for runs around our neighbourhood in the evenings. I discovered that while it may be difficult the first time, after the third or fourth go you can work for the same amount of time and it's not uncomfortable any more. Eureka! (Duh, many runners would proably reply.) And, the more you try to run, the easier it gets! Hurrah! I was able to run for the train without nearly dying, and my neighbours in the other company-owned apartments were ogling me in my running shorts and reporting back to colleagues at work.....yes, well, hmm. But then my flatmate moved back to the US, I moved apartments, and let my excuses get in the way again. I do miss feeling that fit though, knowing you're able to do something that you wouldn't have dreamed of doing before.

So I'm proclaiming my resolutions to family and friends in the hope they'll keep kicking me up the bum and asking how it's all going, which can be the best counter to self-defeating excuses like, oh, but it's too hot to go out today (go in the evening!), I don't have any running shoes (go to your parent's place and get them!) and my bathers are too small to swim in (that's because you're not working out any more! Go buy some you idiot!). Ha. And so the hard road to cardio fitness begins again.