by I have made some decisions. I am more motivated to keep moving in this direction on this path I am currently on. I am going to buy a cork board and put pictures and notes of motivation and just goals on it. There will be a couple of numbers on this board, 21.5 – 42 – 50 these numbers will be distances that I am committed to running. The word Trail running with a picture of a person running through a beautiful forest will be on my board and a slightly scary picture of a theme park, with a big open mouth and the words – Roller Coaster Run! These are experiences that I am going to ensure I have in the future. Well, there is some work to be done here. Slowly I will build my body and health to be able to run further and further. I have targets, Melbourne Marathon – 21.5 km, Roller Coaster – 21.5 km of hills and trails, Gold Coast Marathon – 42 km. Just for good measure I will complete a 65 km Cadel Evans Scenic Ocean bike ride. I have started losing weight!! Bonus! that’s motivating…. I am also noticing that certain skin and scalp issues that I was having has ceased. That’s funny, I wonder if my body was in a highly acidic state with all the drinking. Running program looks like this –
3 km moving to 5 km will stick to this as a min distance and when comfortable with this distance, increase to
6 km. Next 8 km and then when I am ready 10 km. Let’s stick with 10 km and get to running it twice a week wanting to eventually achieve every second day. As soon as 10 km feels bearable I will look at moving my speed up. I keep my running to the Gym on a treadmill and Lillydale Lake because of its soft gravel surface. The trick is to run consistently every second day with your longest run once a week. Once you get yourself to 10 km distance, hover there for a while. Building strength and aerobic capacity. At 10 km mark you can be vulnerable to injury and discomforts like shin splint issues etc. Let your body adjust and adapt. Enjoy the accomplishment and allow your body some time. Watch the weight melt away. Enjoy that wonderful euphoric feeling that you get from your running because that feeling lasts so much longer than the comfort you will get from drinking and it does not require topping up.
Month: April 2015
Door’s are opening everywhere…….
It is difficult at first heading out sober! you feel like you are a science project. People are sincerely mystified with why you are not drinking. I understand why. Alcohol is absolutely imbedded in everything we do. It is unheard of celebrating an event or milestone without a drink. When you are ready to tackle this, be prepared to answer questions, lots of them. You work out pretty quickly that this is all you will talk about at social events for a while. Its a good thing, most people are pretty supportive and inquisitive because it’s not something they have considered doing, but you do get the odd person that is happy to make you the butt of their joke, a great eye opener as to the fabric of that person.
Ita Buttrose made a great observation one morning in a conversation about allowing your teenager to drink at home at the age of seventeen to celebrate an event. Most of the crew were for it, suggesting that if they were going to drink anyway, they would prefer that their children drank around them, in moderation. Sounds like a reasonable view. Ida’s position was “It also needs to be ok for them not to have to have a drink at the age of seventeen to celebrate”. It just shows how intrinsically embedded drinking is. I like to be able to consider both points of view which is why I appreciate so much that there are people willing to offer a differing position.
I have started moving in a totally different direction, I am meeting new people. These people are different, they are part of a new community that I previously had nothing in common with. I can’t believe how nice and supportive some of these people are. They are part of a running community and some of them are incredible athletes. It is inspiring what people can do and ask from their bodies. I feel compelled to move in this direction, this is how I want to live my life. I want to be around this group of people in this community. What I love about these people is that it doesn’t matter how fast you are or how far you run, if you want to be involved, put on your shoe’s, get out of bed at 6.30am and go and meet them and just have a crack! They are supportive like-minded people, its refreshing.
I belong here, in this moment moving in this direction! For the first time I feel like I am in the moment, not just skimming over the top of my life. Door’s are opening everywhere, but Guess what??
I had to bloody open them!!